The Medina Peaks () are rugged, mainly ice-free, peaks surmounting a ridge long, extending north along the east side of

Goodale 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 ...

to the edge 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 ...

, Antarctica.

Discovery and naming

Some of the peaks were first seen and roughly mapped by the

Byrd Antarctic Expedition Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an United States Navy, American naval officer, and pioneering aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and e ...

, 1928–30. They were 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 Guillermo Medina, Technical Director of the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, 1954–60, and of the

Naval Oceanographic Office The Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO), located at John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, is an echelon IV component of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC) and comprises approximately 1,000 civilian, military a ...

, 1960–64.

Location

The Medina Peaks lie between the

to the west and the

Koerwitz 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, ...

to the east, and extend up to the Ross Ice Shelf. From the south, features include Patterson Peak, Pegmatite Peak, Feeney Peak, Feeney Col and Hidden Col. Along the Ross Ice Shelf, from east to west, are Marks Point, Coloured Peak, Marble Peak, O'Brien Peak, Paradise Ridge and the MacDonald Nunataks.

Features

Patterson Peak

. A peak, high, standing at the south end of Medina Peaks, northwest of Anderson Ridge. 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 ground 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 ...

(USN) air photos, 1960-64. Named by United States

(US-ACAN) for Clair C. Patterson, glaciologist at Byrd Station, summer 1965-66.

Pegmatite Peak

. A peak, high, along the westside of Koerwitz Glacier, about midway between the main summits of Medina Peaks and

Mount Salisbury Mount Salisbury is a peak in the Fairweather Range of Alaska, six miles (10 km) southeast of Mount Fairweather. Its east slopes feed one of the northern branches of the Johns Hopkins Glacier, which flows into Glacier Bay. On its western s ...

. First mapped by the USGS from surveys and USN air photos, 1960-64. So named by

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), 1969-70, because of the occurrence of large, whitish pegmatite dykes in a rock wall at the SE spur of the peak.

Feeney Peak

. A peak, high, near the center of Medina Peaks, standing north of Patterson Peak on the E side of Goodale Glacier. Mapped by the USGS from ground surveys and USN air photos, 1960-64. Named by US-ACAN for Robert E. Feeney, biologist at McMurdo Station for several summers, 1964-65 to 1968-69.

Feeney Col

. A col at the northeast side of Feeney Peak, near the center of Medina Peaks. Though steep on both sides and high, the col provides a good route through Medina Peaks. Mapped by the USGS from surveys and USN air photos, 1960-64. The col was used by members of NZGSAE, 1969-70, who named it in association with Feeney Peak.

Hidden Col

. A col in the north part of Medina Peaks, about southwest of Marks Point, that allows a quick sledging route between the lower Amundsen and Scott Glaciers. Mapped by the USGS from surveys and USN air photos, 1960-64. The col was explored by NZGSAE, 1969-70, and so named because it is hidden behind ridges and spurs of the peaks to the northeast and southwest of it.

Marks Point

. A rock point extending east from the north end of Medina Peaks, at the south edge of the Ross Ice Shelf. This feature and nearby area were first seen by members of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, 1928-30. Named by US-ACAN for George R. Marks, logistics worker at McMurdo Station, winter party, 1962.

Coastal features

Features that extend west along the coast from the northern end of the peaks are:

Coloured Peak

. A peak, high, near the head of Ross Ice Shelf in the coastal foothills of the Queen Maud Mountains, about southeast of O'Brien Peak. Mapped by the USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960-64. The peak was examined by members of NZGSAE, 1969-70, and so named because of the colorful yellow, pink and brown banded strata that mark the feature.

Marble Peak

. A coastal peak, the twin of O'Brien Peak to the southeast and almost the same height, overlooking the head of Ross Ice Shelf about midway between Amundsen and Scott Glaciers. The peak was mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960-64. The name was applied by NZGSAE, 1969-70, because there are light-colored, whitish bands of marble crossing straight over its summit.

O'Brien Peak

. A rock peak, high, standing west of the north extremity of Medina Peaks, along the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf. Discovered in December 1929 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Laurence Gould, and named by Byrd for John S. O'Brien, surveyor with that party.

Paradise Ridge

. A low ridge that parallels the coast at the head of Ross Ice Shelf, located east of Amundsen Glacier and midway between MacDonald Nunataks and O'Brien Peak. Mapped by USGS from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1960-64. So named by NZGSAE, 1969-70, because the ridge is rather flat on top and provides easy traversing.

MacDonald Nunataks

. Two nunataks overlooking the head of the Ross Ice Shelf, standing just east of the terminus of Amundsen Glacier, west of O'Brien Peak. Mapped by USGS from surveys and USN air photos, 1960-64. Named by US-ACAN for John A. MacDonald, biologist, McMurdo Station winter party, 1964.

References

Sources

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