The Dufek Massif () is a rugged, largely snow-covered
massif
A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...
long, standing west of the
Forrestal Range in the northern part of the
Pensacola Mountains
The Pensacola Mountains () are a large group of mountain ranges and peaks that extend in a northeast–southwest direction in the Transantarctic Mountains System, Queen Elizabeth Land region of Antarctica.
They comprise the Argentina Range, Forre ...
, Antarctica.
Discovery and name
The Dufek Massif was discovered and photographed on January 13, 1956, on a transcontinental patrol plane flight of United States Navy
Operation Deep Freeze
Operation Deep Freeze is the code name for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on. (There was an init ...
from
McMurdo Sound
The McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica, known as the southernmost passable body of water in the world, located approximately from the South Pole.
Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841 and named it after Lieutenant ...
to the vicinity of the
Weddell Sea
The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha C ...
and return.
It was named by the United States
Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names
The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending commemorative names for features in Antarctica.
History
The committee was established ...
(US-ACAN) for Rear Admiral
George J. Dufek United States Navy, who was in direct operational command of United States Navy Task Force 43 during that operation.
The entire Pensacola Mountains were mapped by the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
(USGS) in 1967 and 1968 from ground surveys and U.S. Navy tricamera aerial photographs taken in 1964.
Location
The Dufek Massif runs southwest-northeast in the northwest of the Pensalcola Mountains.
It is to the east of the mouth of the
Foundation Ice Stream, where it joins the
Ronne Ice Shelf. It is south of the
Ford Ice Piedmont.
The
Jaburg Glacier flows west past its southwest end, separating it from the
Cordiner Peaks to the south.
The
Sallee Snowfield is to its east, separating it from the
Forrestal Range.
Major features, from southwest to northeast, include
Neuburg Peak,
Jaeger Table,
Davis Valley
Davis Valley () is an ice-free valley just east of Floridas Ridge in north-east Dufek Massif, in the Pensacola Mountains, Antarctica.
Mapping and name
Davis Valley was mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and Unite ...
and
Boyd Escarpment.
Glaciers and snowfield
*
Foundation Ice Stream (), a major
ice stream
An ice stream is a region of fast-moving ice within an ice sheet. It is a type of glacier, a body of ice that moves under its own weight. They can move upwards of a year, and can be up to in width, and hundreds of kilometers in length. They t ...
in the
Pensacola Mountains
The Pensacola Mountains () are a large group of mountain ranges and peaks that extend in a northeast–southwest direction in the Transantarctic Mountains System, Queen Elizabeth Land region of Antarctica.
They comprise the Argentina Range, Forre ...
of Antarctica. The ice stream drains northward for along the west side of the
Patuxent Range and the
Neptune Range to enter the
Ronne Ice Shelf westward of Dufek Massif.
*
Ford Ice Piedmont (), a large ice piedmont lying northward of Dufek Massif and Forrestal Range between the lower ends of Foundation Ice Stream and Support Force Glacier, in the Pensacola Mountains.
*
Sallee Snowfield (), a large snowfield between the Dufek Massif and northern Forrestal Range].
*
Jaburg Glacier (), a broad glacier draining westward between Dufek Massif and Cordiner Peaks.
Features
Geographical features include:
*
Neuburg Peak (), a jagged rock peak high, rising east of
Walker Peak in the southwest part of the Dufek Massif.
*
Jaeger Table (), the ice-covered summit plateau of Dufek Massif, rising to at
Worcester Summit.
*
Davis Valley
Davis Valley () is an ice-free valley just east of Floridas Ridge in north-east Dufek Massif, in the Pensacola Mountains, Antarctica.
Mapping and name
Davis Valley was mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and Unite ...
(), an ice-free valley just east of Floridas Ridge in north-east Dufek Massif.
*
Boyd Escarpment (), a rock and snow escarpment which extends northeast for from
Wujek Ridge. It includes
Bennett Spur,
Cox Nunatak and
Rankine Rock.
Notes
References
Sources
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{{Authority control
Mountain ranges of Queen Elizabeth Land
Pensacola Mountains