Forlidas Pond is a round frozen pond, in diameter, lying in a morainal valley east of the north end of Forlidas Ridge,

Dufek Massif Dufek Massif, Augusto Pinochet Massif or Santa Teresita Massif is a rugged, largely snow-covered massif long, standing west of the Forrestal Range in the northern part of the Pensacola Mountains. It was discovered and photographed on January 13, ...

Queen Elizabeth Land Queen Elizabeth Land is a portion of mainland Antarctica named by the government of the United Kingdom and claimed as part of the British Antarctic Territory, which is the largest of the 14 British Overseas Territories. Situated south of Weddel ...

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

. The only pond in the northern

Pensacola Mountains The Pensacola Mountains are a large group of mountain ranges of the Transantarctic Mountains System, located in the Queen Elizabeth Land region of Antarctica. Geography They extend 450 km (280 mi) in a NE-SW direction. Subranges of t ...

, it is of much interest to biologists. The pond was discovered and briefly investigated in December 1957 by a United States –

International Geophysical Year The International Geophysical Year (IGY; french: Année géophysique internationale) was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific i ...

party from

Ellsworth Station Ellsworth Scientific Station ( es, Estación Científica Ellsworth, or simply ''Estación Ellsworth'' or ''Base Ellsworth'') was a permanent, all year-round originally American, then Argentine Antarctic scientific research station named after Ame ...

. The name is in association with Forlidas Ridge and was suggested by Arthur B. Ford of the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

following geological work in the area, 1978–79.

Antarctic Specially Protected Area

Forlidas Pond, with Davis Valley some away, and other adjacent ice-free valleys, forms one of the most southerly ‘dry valley’ systems on the continent and has exceptional scientific value for the interpretation of past glacial events and climate in this part of Antarctica. The site is protected under the Antarctic Treaty System as

Antarctic Specially Protected Area An Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) is an area on the continent of Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Sou ...

(ASPA) No.119.

References

Lakes of Antarctica Bodies of water of Queen Elizabeth Land Antarctic Specially Protected Areas {{QueenElizabethLand-geo-stub