The MacDonald Hills () are a compact group of exposed rock hills in the

Asgard Range The Asgard Range () is a mountain range in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It divides Wright Valley from Taylor Glacier and Taylor Valley. It is south of the Olympus Range and north of the Quartermain Mountains and the Kukri Hills. Name The Asga ...

, east of

Commonwealth Glacier Taylor Valley is an ice-free valley about long, once occupied by the receding Taylor Glacier. It lies north of the Kukri Hills between the Taylor Glacier and New Harbour (Antarctica), New Harbour in Victoria Land, Antarctica. Taylor Valley is th ...

on the north side of lower Taylor Valley,

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. The hills 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) (1997) after William R. MacDonald (1925–77), Chief of the Branch of International Activities,

U.S. 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 March ...

, and a member of the US-ACAN, part of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, 1976–77 (see MacDonald Peak).

Named features

Features include:

Mount Coleman

. A rounded mountain, high, standing immediately east of Commonwealth Glacier at the head of New Harbor in Victoria Land. Mapped by the BrAE under Scott, 1910-13. Named by C.S. Wright, a member of the expedition, for Professor Coleman, geologist, of Toronto University, Canada.

Harp Hill

. A detached hill high that is triangular in plan, the northwest and southeast sides of which are defined by ridgelike rock exposures, located at the north side of MacDonald Hills in Asgard Range, Victoria Land. Named descriptively by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) (1997) from its distinctive appearance.

Mount Knox

. A peak rising to about high at the west extremity of MacDonald Hills, on the north side of Taylor Valley, Victoria Land. Named by the New Zealand Geographic Board (NZGB) (1998) after Professor Emeritus George A. Knox, formerly of the zoology department of the University of Canterbury, New Zealand Knox made numerous Antarctic visits and established the university’s Antarctic Research Unit that was active from 1961 until 1981; New Zealand delegate to SCAR 1974-86; President of SCAR 1978-82.

Territory Cirque

. A cirque, wide, which occupies the southernmost part of MacDonald Hills on the north wall of Taylor Valley. At elevation, the cirque rises above the terminus of Commonwealth Glacier immediately southward. Named by New Zealand Geographic Board (NZGB) (1998) after a form of government to complement the Commonwealth (of Australia) Glacier.

Colony Cirque

. A cirque immediately east of Mount Knox in MacDonald Hills. Named by NZGB (1998) after a form of government. The name complements the adjacent

, named earlier by Captain R. F. Scott after the Commonwealth of Australia.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Asgard Range Hills of Victoria Land McMurdo Dry Valleys