Erratic Valley is a short valley on

Alexander Island Alexander Island, which is also known as Alexander I Island, Alexander I Land, Alexander Land, Alexander I Archipelago, and Zemlja Alexandra I, is the largest island of Antarctica. It lies in the Bellingshausen Sea west of Palmer Land, Antarcti ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, that joins

Ablation Valley Ablation Valley, also known as Ablation Bay, is a mainly ice-free valley on the east coast of Alexander Island, long, which is entered immediately south of Ablation Point, opens on George VI Sound and lies immediately north of Ganymede Heights. ...

from the north. It was named from the large number of erratic

igneous Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

blocks observed in the valley by a

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

field party which mapped the area in 1978–79. The site lies within

Antarctic Specially Protected Area An Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) is an area on the continent of Antarctica, or on nearby islands, which is protected by scientists and several different international bodies. The protected areas were established in 1961 under the Antarc ...

(ASPA) No.147.

References

Valleys of Antarctica Valleys of Alexander Island Antarctic Specially Protected Areas {{AlexanderIsland-geo-stub

See also

References