The Labyrinth () is an extensive flat upland area which has been deeply eroded, at the west end of Wright Valley, in

Victoria Land Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78th parallel south, 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Ant ...

, Antarctica. It was so named by the

Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition The Antarctic Research Centre (ARC) is part of the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington. Its mission is to research " Antarctic climate history and processes, and their influence on the global cl ...

(VUWAE) (1958–59) because the eroded

dolerite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grain ...

of which it is formed gives an appearance of a

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...

Location

The Labyrinth lies in the western Wright Valley. The Asgard Range, Mount Thor and Linnaeus Terrace are to the south. The

Olympus Range The Olympus Range () is a primarily ice-free mountain range of Victoria Land, Antarctica, with peaks over high, between Victoria Valley and McKelvey Valley on the north and Wright Valley on the south. It is south of the Clare Range and north o ...

and

Mount Dido The Olympus Range () is a primarily ice-free mountain range of Victoria Land, Antarctica, with peaks over high, between Victoria Valley and McKelvey Valley on the north and Wright Valley on the south. It is south of the Clare Range and north of t ...

are to the north. Minotaur Pass provides a route through the Olympus Range to McKelvey Valley. The Wright Upper Glacier fills the Wright Valley to the west, and the

Dais A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)dais
in the Random House Dictionary< ...

lies to the east. The Dais Col connects the east edge of the Labyrinth to the west edge of the Dais.

Ponds

Connell Pond

. A freshwater frozen pond. The pond lies in Healy Trough, south of Rodriquez Pond. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) (2004) after Laurie Connell, University of Maine, Orono; leader of a United States Antarctic Project (USAP) field party that sampled the pond in 2003-04.

Headwall Pond

. A very small ice-covered pond. The pond lies along a rock headwall close northeast of Craig Pond. The descriptive name was suggested by the United States Antarctic Project (USAP) field party that sampled the pond in 2003-04.

Craig Pond

. A freshwater frozen pond east of Dauphin Pond. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) (2004) after Scott D. Craig, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, East Orland, ME; member of a United States Antarctic Project (USAP) party that field sampled Labyrinth ponds in 2003-04.

Sarcophagus Pond

. A small ice-covered pond east-northeast of Dauphin Pond. A descriptive name suggested by the United States Antarctic Project (USAP) field party that sampled the pond in the 2003-04 season. A rock in the middle of the pond is shaped like a stone coffin.

Dauphin Pond

. A freshwater frozen pond. The pond is near the southwest extremity of Healy Trough, east of the Wright Upper Glacier terminus. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) (2004) after a USCG Dauphin helicopter (HH-65A) that landed on the pond January 20, 2004, in the course of sampling the pond.

Jackson Pond

. A freshwater frozen pond midway between the terminus of Wright Upper Glacier and Anvil Pond. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) (2004) after J.K. Jackson, Department of Geology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL; a member of the core legging and processing team during the McMurdo Dry Valleys Drilling Project, 1974-75.

Anvil Pond

. A freshwater frozen pond to the west of Healy Trough and northwest of Rodriquez Pond. The name was suggested by a United States Antarctic Project (USAP) field party, 2003-04, because a rock in this small pond looks like an anvil.

Rodriquez Pond

. A freshwater frozen pond. The pond is the larger of the two ponds that lie west of Hoffman Ledge in Healy Trough. It is just southeast of smaller Redman Pond. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) after Russell Rodriquez, United States Geological Survey, Seattle, WA; member of a United States Antarctic Project (USAP) party that sampled the pond in 2003-04.

Redman Pond

. A frozen freshwater pond. The pond is the smaller of the two ponds west of Hoffman Ledge in Healy Trough. It is just northwest of larger Rodriquez Pond (q.v.). Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) (2004) after Regina Redman, United States Geological Survey, Seattle, WA; member of a United States Antarctic Project (USAP) field party in the Labyrinth in 2003-04.

Other features

Hoffman Ledge

. An arcuate flat-topped ridge, long and wide, located west of Dais Col. The relatively level ledge rises to and is bounded west and north by Healy Trough. Cliffs and slopes bordering the ledge rise from to over above the trough. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) after J.H. (Jack) Hoffman of the Geophysics Division, DSIR, superintendent of the New Zealand drilling team engaged in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Drilling Project, 1973-76.

Healy Trough

. A primary elongate trough, extending diagonally southwest-northeast across the east part of the Labyrinth. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) (2004) after Terry R. Healy, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, who, with John Shaw, published observations on the formation of the Labyrinth following a visit in the 1975-76 season.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Plateaus of Antarctica Landforms of Victoria Land McMurdo Dry Valleys Labyrinths