The Keltie Glacier () is a large

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

, long, draining from Pain Névé southwest around the southern extremity of the

Commonwealth Range The Commonwealth Range () is a north-south trending range of rugged mountains, long, located within the Queen Maud Mountains on the Dufek Coast of the continent of Antarctica. The range borders the eastern side of Beardmore Glacier from Keltie G ...

, and then northwest to enter

Beardmore Glacier The Beardmore Glacier in Antarctica is one of the largest valley glaciers in the world, being long and having a width of . It descends about from the Antarctic Plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf and is bordered by the Commonwealth Range of the Queen ...

at Ranfurly Point. It was discovered by the

British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–09 The ''Nimrod'' Expedition of 1907–1909, otherwise known as the British Antarctic Expedition, was the first of three expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton and his second time to the Continent. Its main target, among a range of ...

, under

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarcti ...

, who named it for Sir

John Scott Keltie Sir John Scott Keltie (29 March 1840 – 12 January 1927) was a Scottish geographer, best known for his work with the Royal Geographical Society. History Keltie was born in Dundee and attended school in Perth. He matriculated at the Universi ...

, Secretary of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, 1892–1915.

Course

The Keltie Glacier originates in the Pain Névé below

Mount Kaplan The Hughes Range () is a high massive north–south trending mountain range in Antarctica, surmounted by six prominent summits, of which Mount Kaplan at is the highest. The range is located east of Canyon Glacier in the Queen Maud Mountains and ...

and

Mount Wexler The Hughes Range () is a high massive north–south trending mountain range in Antarctica, surmounted by six prominent summits, of which Mount Kaplan at is the highest. The range is located east of Canyon Glacier in the Queen Maud Mountains and ...

in the Hughes Range of 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 ...

. It flows southwest between the Hughes Range and the

. It is joined from the east by the Brandau Glacier to the north of the

Barton Mountains The Barton Mountains () are a group of mountains located south of the Commonwealth Range and the Hughes Range and bounded by Keltie Glacier, Brandau Glacier, Leigh Hunt Glacier, and Snakeskin Glacier, in the Queen Maud Mountains. Exploration ...

, where it turns west. It then turns northwest past the

Supporters Range The Supporters Range () is a rugged range in the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica. It is long, bordering the eastern side of Mill Glacier, from Keltie Glacier in the north to Mill Stream Glacier in the south. So named by the New Zealand Geol ...

, from which it is joined by the Snakeskin Glacier and then the Laird Glacier before entering the

from the east past Ranfurly Point. The Brandau Glacier is fed by the Leigh Hunt Glacier from the left (south) before joining the Keltie Glacier. The Snakeskin Glacier is fed from the right (east) by the Falkenhof Glacier.

Tributaries

Pain Névé

. A

névé Névé is a young, granular type of snow which has been partially melted, refrozen and compacted, yet precedes the form of ice. This type of snow can contribute to glacier formation through the process of ''nivation''. Névé that survives a ...

between Commonwealth Range and Hughes Range from which the Keltie Glacier drains southwestward to enter Beardmore Glacier. Named by the Southern Party of

New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition The New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition (NZGSAE) describes a series of scientific explorations of the continent Antarctica. The expeditions were notably active throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Features named by the expeditions 19 ...

(NZGSAE) (1961–62) for Kevin Pain, field assistant with the party.

Brandau Glacier

. A wide tributary glacier, long, flowing westward from an ice divide between Haynes Table and

Husky Heights The Hughes Range () is a high massive north–south trending mountain range in Antarctica, surmounted by six prominent summits, of which Mount Kaplan at is the highest. The range is located east of Canyon Glacier in the Queen Maud Mountains and ...

to enter Keltie Glacier just west of Ford Spur. 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 Lt. Cdr. James F. Brandau, USN, pilot with Squadron VX-6,

OpDFrz 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 ...

1964 and 1965.

Leigh Hunt Glacier

. A glacier, long, flowing north-north-west to enter Brandau Glacier just west of Hare Peak. Named by the NZGSAE (1961-62) for A. Leigh Hunt, founder and first chairman of the New Zealand Antarctic Society.

Snakeskin Glacier

. A tributary glacier, long, flowing northwest to enter Keltie Glacier at the east side of Supporters Range. Named by NZGSAE (1961-62) as being descriptive of the ice and snow patterns observed on the glacier's surface.

Jensen Glacier

. A tributary glacier, about long, flowing north between Supporters Range and Lhasa Nunatak into Snakeskin Glacier. Named by US-ACAN for Kenard H. Jensen, USARP meteorologist at South Pole Station, 1963.

Falkenhof Glacier

. A tributary glacier long, flowing west from the vicinity of Tricorn Mountain to enter Snakeskin Glacier northwest of Mount Clarke. Named by US-ACAN for Jack J. Falkenhof, USARP meteorologist at South Pole Station, 1963.

Laird Glacier

. A tributary glacier, long, flowing northeast from the Supporters Range to enter Keltic Glacier southeast of Ranfurly Point. Named by US-ACAN for Robert J. Laird, USARP biologist at McMurdo Station, 1963.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Glaciers of the Ross Dependency Glaciers of Dufek Coast Queen Maud Mountains