The Outback Nunataks () are a series of bare rock

nunatak A nunatak (from Inuit language, Inuit ) is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They often form natural pyramidal peaks. Isolated nunataks are also cal ...

s and mountains which are distributed over an area about long by wide. The group lies south of

Emlen Peaks The Emlen Peaks () is a group of scattered peaks and nunataks, long and wide. It is south of Daniels Range in the south end of the Usarp Mountains in northern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Early exploration and name Emlen Peaks was mapped by the ...

of the

Usarp Mountains The Usarp Mountains are a major mountain range in North Victoria Land, Antarctica. They are west of the Rennick Glacier and trend north to south for about . The mountains are bounded to the north by Pryor Glacier and the Wilson Hills. They are we ...

and west of Monument Nunataks and upper

Rennick Glacier Rennick Glacier () is a broad glacier, nearly long, which is one of the largest in Antarctica. It rises on the polar plateau westward of Mesa Range and is wide, narrowing to near the coast. It takes its name from Rennick Bay where the glacier r ...

, adjacent to the featureless

interior plateau The Interior Plateau comprises a large region of the Interior of British Columbia, and lies between the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains on the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range on the west.''Landforms of Bri ...

Exploration and naming

The Outback Nunataks were discovered by the United States Victoria Land Traverse party, 1959–60, and mapped by

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) from surveys and

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

air photos, 1959–64. They were so named by the

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 their remote position at the posterior side of the large mountain belt that extends from the

Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who ...

to the interior ice plateau.

Location

The terrain to the west of the nunataks is a featureless expanse of the polar plateau. The

of the

and the

Helliwell Hills The Helliwell Hills () are a group of rocky hills and low mountains about long and wide in the Usarp Mountains of North Victoria Land, Antarctica. Location The Helliwell Hills are part of the Usarp Mountains of North Victoria Land, Antarctica ...

are to the north. The

, the

Freyberg Mountains The Freyberg Mountains () are a group of mountains in Victoria Land, Antarctica, bounded by the Rennick Glacier, Bowers Mountains, Black Glacier, and Evans Névé. They are west of the Victory Mountains and south of the Bowers Mountains. Nam ...

, the Monument Nunataks and the

Mesa Range The Mesa Range () is a range of flat-topped mesas comprising the Sheehan, Pain, Tobin and Gair Mesas, situated at the head of the Rennick Glacier in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was given this descriptive name by the northern party of the New ...

are to the east. The

Rennick Névé Rennick Glacier () is a broad glacier, nearly long, which is one of the largest in Antarctica. It rises on the polar plateau westward of Mesa Range and is wide, narrowing to near the coast. It takes its name from Rennick Bay where the glacier ...

and the

Sequence Hills Sequence Hills () is an escarpment-like hills on the west margin of the upper Rennick Glacier, about 7 nautical miles (13 km) northwest of Caudal Hills, Victoria Land. They provided the only good geological sequence in the area. Mapped and na ...

are to the south.

Northwestern features

Northwestern features include Mount Southard, Welcome Mountain, De Camp Nunatak, The Office Girls, Oona Cliff, Mount Walton, Mount Chadwick and Coleman Bluffs.

Mount Southard

. A lone mountain high standing northwest of Welcome Mountain in the northwest extremity of the Outback Nunataks. Named by US-ACAN for Rupert B. Southard, Chief, Office of International Activities, USGS, with responsibility for USGS field parties working in Antarctica; later Chief of the Topograpic Division of USGS.

Welcome Mountain

. A very prominent mountain that is surmounted by three peaks, the highest high, standing southeast of Mount Southard. Discovered and named by the United States Victoria Land Traverse party, 1959-60. So named because it was the first mountain visited by the traverse party after crossing the interior plateau and not seeing any mountains or landmark features for nearly three months.

De Camp Nunatak

. A lone nunatak standing southeast of Welcome Mountain. Named by US-ACAN for Michael A. de Camp, biologist at McMurdo Station, 1966-67.

The Office Girls

. Two prominent rock nunataks along an ice cliff, situated southwest of Welcome Mountain. Named by US-ACAN to express appreciation for the dedicated support provided to Antarctic programs by home-based personnel.

Oona Cliff

. A north-facing rock and ice cliff, about long, situated just northwest of Mount Walton. Named by US-ACAN for Hain Oona, ionospheric physicist at South Pole Station, 1968.

Mount Walton

. A sharp, bare mountain high rising midway between Oona Cliff and Mount Chadwick. Named by US-ACAN for Fred W. Walton, geomagnetist/seismologist at South Pole Station, 1968.

Mount Chadwick

. A small, bare rock mountain high situated east-southeast of Mount Walton. Named by US-ACAN for Dan M. Chadwick, meteorologist at South Pole Station, 1968.

Coleman Bluffs

. A loose chain of rock and ice bluffs that trend generally north–south for , situated near the center of the Outback Nunataks, about northwest of Mount Weihaupt. Named by US-ACAN for Harold L. Coleman, meteorologist at South Pole Station, 1968.

Northeastern features

Northeastern features include Doe Nunatak, Doescher Nunatak and Wu Nunatak.

Doe Nunatak

. A somewhat isolated nunatak, situated west-northwest of Doescher Nunatak and north-northwest of Mount Weihaupt. Named by US-ACAN after Wilfred I. Doe, United States Navy, hospital corpsman with the McMurdo Station winter party, 1967.

Doescher Nunatak

. A somewhat isolated nunatak situated north of Mount Weihaupt. Named by US-ACAN for Roger L. Doescher, glaciologist, McMurdo Station, 1967-68.

Wu Nunatak

. A nunatak about north-northeast of Mount Weihaupt. Named by US-ACAN for Tien H. Wu, glaciologist at McMurdo Station, 1966-67.

Southwestern features

Southwestern features include Mount Joern, Mount Bower, Mount Spatz, Roberts Butte, Miller Butte, Mount Koons, Chan Rocks and Saunders Bluff.

Mount Joern

. A ridgelike mountain high standing northwest of Mount Bower. Named by US-ACAN for Albert T. Joern, a researcher in physiopsychology with the winter party at South Pole Station, 1968.

Mount Bower

. A prominent mountain high standing east-northeast of Roberts Butte. Named by US-ACAN for John R. Bower, ionospheric physicist at South Pole Station, 1968.

Mount Spatz

. A mountain, high, standing west-southwest of Mount Weihaupt. Named by US-AC AN for Richard Spatz, station engineer at McMurdo Station, 1968.

Roberts Butte

. A striking, flat-topped butte high.that is very prominent and can be seen from great distances standing northwest of Miller Butte. Discovered by the United States Victoria Land Traverse Party, 1959-60. Louis J. Roberts, USGS surveyor with this party, proposed the name "Flattop Mountain," but to avoid duplication the US-ACAN named it for Roberts who was first to survey the feature.

Miller Butte

. A large rock butte located southeast of Roberts Butte. Named by US-ACAN for Carl D. Miller, geophysicist at McMurdo Station, 1967-68.

Mount Koons

. A small mountain situated east of Miller Butte. Named by US-ACAN for Robert W. Koons, United States ArmyRP logistics coordinator with the McMurdo Station winter party, 1968.

Chan Rocks

. A group of rocks along an ice bluff situated southeast of Miller Butte. Named by US-ACAN for Lian Chan, engaged in laboratory management, McMurdo Station winter party, 1968.

Saunders Bluff

. A small, isolated bluff standing east-southeast of Miller Butte. Named by US-ACAN for Jeffrey J. Saunders, biolab technician at McMurdo Station, 1965-66.

Southeastern features

Southeastern features include Derbyshire Peak, Mount Blair, Nims Peak, Mount Weihaupt and Womochel Peaks.

Derbyshire Peak

. A small rock peak north-northeast of Mount Weihaupt. Named by US-ACAN for Edward Derbyshire, geologist at McMurdo Station, 1966-67.

Mount Blair

. A small but conspicuous mountain high standing northwest of Mount Weihaupt. Named by US-ACAN for Terence T. Blair, biologist at McMurdo Station, 1966-67.

Nims Peak

. A sharp rock peak about northwest of Mount Weihaupt. Named by US-ACAN for David J. Nims, ionospheric physicist at McMurdo Station, 1968.

Mount Weihaupt

. A large, bare mountain high which stands east of Mount Bower and is the dominant feature in the east part of the Outback Nunataks. First mapped by the United States Victoria Land Traverse party, 1959-60. Named by US-ACAN for John G. Weihaupt, seismologist with this party.

Womochel Peaks

. Low rock peaks about south of Mount Weihaupt. Named by US-ACAN for Daniel R. Womochel, biologist at McMurdo Station, 1967-68.

Nearby features

Nearby features include, clockwise from the north, Potter Nunataks, Fitzsimmons Nunataks, Johannessen Nunataks, Frontier Mountain and Wilds Nunatak.

Potter Nunataks

. A group of small, rather isolated nunataks about southwest of the Helliwell Hills and northeast of Welcome Mountain of the Outback Nunataks. Named by US-ACAN for Neal Potter, economist, McMurdo Station, 1965-66, who made a study of the economic potentials of Antarctica.

Fitzsimmons Nunataks

. A group of small nunataks about east-northeast of Welcome Mountain of the Outback Nunataks and southeast of

. Named by US-ACAN for John M. Fitzsimmons, biologist at McMurdo Station, 1965-66.

Johannessen Nunataks

. An isolated, ridgelike outcropping of rocks about long, standing south of Mount Weihaupt in the south extremity of the Outback Nunataks. Named by US-ACAN for Karl R. Johannessen, meteorologist at McMurdo Station, 1967-68.

Frontier Mountain

. A large, mainly ice-free mountain high situated south-southeast of Roberts Butte of the Outback Nunataks, and west-northwest of the

, near the edge of the featureless, interior ice plateau. Named by the northern party of NZGSAE, 1962-63, because of its geographical location.

Wilds Nunatak

. A lone nunatak located west of the south end of Frontier Mountain. Named by US-ACAN for Ronald F. Wilds, aviation machinist's mate with USN Squadron VX-6 at McMurdo Station, 1966.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Nunataks of Victoria Land Pennell Coast