The Rawson Mountains () lie within the

Queen Maud Mountains The Queen Maud Mountains () are a major group of mountains, ranges and subordinate features of the Transantarctic Mountains, lying between the Beardmore Glacier, Beardmore and Reedy Glaciers and including the area from the head of the Ross Ice Sh ...

to the southeast of the

Ross Ice Shelf The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica (, an area of roughly and about across: about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than long, and between high ...

in Antarctica. They are a crescent-shaped range of tabular, ice-covered mountains including Fuller Dome, Mount Wyatt and Mount Verlautz, standing southeast of Nilsen Plateau and extending southeast for to the west side of Scott Glacier.

Discovery and naming

The Rawson Mountains were discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn. They were named by

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer, and pioneering aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and expedition leader cr ...

for Frederick H. Rawson, American banker and contributor to the Byrd Antarctic Expeditions of 1928-30 and 1933-35.

Location

The Rawson Mountains are to the southeast of

Nilsen Plateau Nilsen Plateau () is a rugged, ice-covered plateau in Antarctica. When including Fram Mesa, the plateau is about long and wide, rising to high between the upper reaches of the Amundsen and Scott glaciers, in the Queen Maud Mountains. Discovere ...

and south of the head of the

Holdsworth Glacier The Scott Glacier () is a major glacier, long, that drains the East Antarctic Ice Sheet through the Queen Maud Mountains to the Ross Ice Shelf. The Scott Glacier is one of a series of major glaciers flowing across the Transantarctic Mountains, w ...

. The Scott Glacier forms to their east and flows north towards the

. The

Amundsen Glacier The Amundsen Glacier () is a major Antarctic glacier, about 7 to 11 km (4 to 6 nmi) wide and 150 km (80 nmi) long. It originates on the Antarctic Plateau where it drains the area to the south and west of Nilsen Plateau, then ...

forms to their west and flows northwest towards the Ross Ice Shelf. Features of the Rawson Mountains, from west to east, include Fuller Dome, Mount Wyatt and Mount Verlautz. To the south of the mountains is the

Poulter Glacier The Scott Glacier () is a major glacier, long, that drains the East Antarctic Ice Sheet through the Queen Maud Mountains to the Ross Ice Shelf. The Scott Glacier is one of a series of major glaciers flowing across the Transantarctic Mountains, w ...

, which in turn is north of the isolated Mount Innes-Taylor, Mount Saltonstall, Mount Weaver and Mount Wilbur. To the north of the mountains are a line of mountains west of Scott Glacier including Mount Przywitowski, McNally Peak, Mount Farley, Mount Denauro, Lee Peak, Mount Ruth and Mount Gardiner. These last two stand where

Bartlett Glacier The Scott Glacier () is a major glacier, long, that drains the East Antarctic Ice Sheet through the Queen Maud Mountains to the Ross Ice Shelf. The Scott Glacier is one of a series of major glaciers flowing across the Transantarctic Mountains, w ...

and Scott Glacier converge.

Features

Named features of the Rawson Mountains include, from west to east:

Fuller Dome

. A dome-shaped, ice-covered mountain. high, at the northwest end of the Rawson Mountains. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960-64. Named by US-ACAN for C.E. Fuller, storekeeper with United States Navy Squadron VX-6 on Operation Deep Freeze 1966 and 1967.

Mount Wyatt

. A prominent flat-topped mountain, high, standing west of Mount Verlautz in the Rawson Mountains. Discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn and named by Rear Admiral Byrd for Jane Wyatt, a friend of Richard S. Russell, Jr., a member of that party.

Mount Verlautz

. A mountain high standing just north of the mouth of Poulter Glacier in the southeast end of the Rawson Mountains. Named by US-ACAN for Major Sidney J. Verlautz, United States Army Transportation Corps, who served as logistics research officer on the staff of the Commander, United States Naval Support Force, Antarctica.

Features to the south

Features south of the Poulter Glacier, which drains east into Scott Glacier, include:

Mount Innes-Taylor

. A mountain, high, standing north of Mount Saltonstall at the south side of

. Discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn, and named by Byrd for Capt. Alan Innes-Taylor who served with the expedition as chief of trail operations.

Mount Saltonstall

. A tabular mountain, high, standing south of Mount Innes-Taylor at the south side of Poulter Glacier. Discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn, and named by Byrd for John Saltonstall, contributor to the expedition.

Sheridan Bluff

. A bluff at the south side of the junction of

and Scott Glacier, east-southeast of Mount Saltonstall. Mapped by USGS from surveys and USN aerial photographs, 1960–64. Named by US-ACAN after Michael F. Sheridan, Professor of Geology, Arizona State University, a member of a USARP field party in this area during the 1978-79 season.

Mount Weaver

. A mountain, high, standing west of Mount Wilbur at the head of Scott Glacier. Discovered and ascended in December 1934 by members of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn. Named by them for Charles E. Weaver, professor of paleontology at the University of Washington.

Mount Wilbur

. A mountain standing east of Mount Weaver at the head of Scott Glacier. Discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn, and named by Byrd for the Hon. Curtis D. Wilbur, Secretary of the Navy, 1925-29.

Features to the north

The line of mountains north of the Rawson Mountains along the west of Scott Glacier include, from south to north:

Mount Przywitowski

. A mountain, high, standing at the southeast side of Holdsworth Glacier, west of McNally Peak. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960-64. Named by US-ACAN for Richard F. Przywitowski, USARP scientific leader at South Pole Station, winter 1966.

McNally Peak

. A peak high, standing west of Mount Parley, near the southeast side of Holdsworth Glacier, in the Queen Maud Mountains. Named by US-ACAN for Cdr. Joseph J. McNally, United States Navy, supply officer at McMurdo Station, winter 1959; on the staff of the Commander, United States Naval Support Force, Antarctica, during United States Navy OpDFrz 1967.

Mount Farley

. A conspicuous rock peak, high, standing at the west side of Scott Glacier, east of McNally Peak. Discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn, and named at that time by Byrd for the Hon.

James Farley James Aloysius Farley (May 30, 1888 – June 9, 1976) was an American politician who simultaneously served as chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and United States Postmaster Gener ...

, Postmaster General of the United States.

Mount Amherst

. A peak rising to between Holdsworth Glacier and Scott Glacier, north-northeast of McNally Peak. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy aerial photographs, 1960–64. The geology of the peak was studied in the 1978–79 season by a USARP-Arizona State University field party. Named by US-ACAN after Amherst College, Amherst, MA, alma mater of Michael F. Sheridan, a member of the field party.

Tongue Peak

. A peak rising to about between

and Scott Glacier, west-northwest of Mount Farley. The peak was mapped by USGS from surveys and USN aerial photographs, 1960-64. It was geologically mapped by a USARP-Arizona State University field party, 1978-79, and was named by geologist Scott G. Borg, a member of the party. The name derives from a well developed tongue-shaped moraine in an abandoned cirque between the west and north ridges of the peak.

Sagehen Nunataks

. A roughly triangular group of hills rising to about above base level on the east side of Holdsworth Glacier, north of McNally Peak. Mapped by USGS from surveys and USN aerial photographs, 1960–64. Visited by a USARP–Arizona State University geological field party, 1978–79, and named after the

Sagehen Sage-grouse are grouse belonging to the bird genus ''Centrocercus.'' The genus includes two species: the Gunnison grouse (''Centrocercus minimus'') and the greater sage-grouse (''Centrocercus urophasianus''). These birds are distributed throug ...

, mascot of

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

, Claremont, CA, the alma mater of Scott G. Borg, one of the field party members.

Mount Denauro

. Mountain, high, standing on the west side of Scott Glacier, south of Lee Peak. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960-64. Named by US-ACAN for Ralph Denauro, aviation mechanic with United States Navy Squadron VX-6 on Operation Deep Freeze 1966.

Cowie Dome

. A dome-shaped summit at the east side of Bartlett Glacier, located directly west of Lee Peak. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960-64. Named by NZ-APC for George Donald (Don) Cowie, leader of the NZGSAE which visited the region in 1969-70.

Lee Peak

. A peak along the west side of Scott Glacier, north of Mount Denauro. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1960-64. Named by US-ACAN for Frank P. Lee, photographer on aerial flights in Antarctica during United States Navy Operation Deep Freeze 1965, 1966 and 1967.

Mount Ruth

. A ridge-shaped mountain, high, standing west of Mount Gardiner, at the southeast side of the lower reaches of Bartlett Glacier. Discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn, and named at that time by R. Admiral Byrd for Ruth Black, deceased wife of Richard B. Black, expedition member who assisted with seismic, survey, and radio operations in the vicinity of Little America II.

Mount Gardiner

. A ridge-like granitic mountain, high, standing east of Mount Ruth and just south of the junction of Bartlett and Scott Glaciers. Discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn. Named by Byrd for Joseph T. Gardiner of Wellington, New Zealand, agent for the Byrd Antarctic Expedition of 1928-30 and 1933-35.

Bartlett Bench

. A bare, flat benchlike elevation which overlooks the Bartlett Glacier from the east, located south-southwest of Mount Ruth. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960–64. Named by NZGSAE Scott Glacier Party, 1969-70, in association with the Bartlett Glacier.

References

Sources

* * *{{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Mountain ranges of the Ross Dependency Amundsen Coast