The McCuddin Mountains are a small cluster of

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

s in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

consisting mainly of two large mountains, Mount Flint and Mount Petras, along with several scattered peaks and

nunatak A nunatak (from Inuit language, Inuit ) is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They often form natural pyramidal peaks. Isolated nunataks are also cal ...

s. Located in

Marie Byrd Land Marie Byrd Land (MBL) is an unclaimed region of Antarctica. With an area of , it is the largest unclaimed territory on Earth. It was named after the wife of American naval officer Richard E. Byrd, who explored the region in the early 20th centu ...

, east of the

Ames Range The Ames Range () is a range of snow-covered, flat-topped, steep-sided mountains, extending in a north–south direction for and forming a right angle with the eastern end of the Flood Range in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Location The Ames R ...

, with Wallace Rock as its southeast extremity. The mountains were discovered and photographed from the air in a flight from West Base of the U.S. Antarctic Service on Dec. 14, 1940. They were mapped by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1959-65. Named by

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 Rear Admiral Leo B. McCuddin, U.S. Navy (USN), Commander of the U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, 1972.

Mount Flint

Mount Flint () is a prominent rounded and mainly snow-covered mountain, , standing NW of Mount Petras. The feature was observed from aircraft of the U.S. Antarctic Service (USAS) in Flight G, Dec. 15, 1940, and was briefly referred to as "Mount Gray". Asher Peak is a peak in the south west portion of the mountain. It was mapped in detail by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 1959-65. Named by US-ACAN for Robert B. Flint, Jr., U.S. Antarctic Research Program (USARP) scientist on high latitude geophysical and geomagnetic phenomena. Flint wintered over at

Byrd Station The Byrd Station is a former research station established by the United States during the International Geophysical Year by U.S. Navy Seabees during Operation Deep Freeze II in West Antarctica. It was a year-round base until 1972, and then se ...

, 1964,

Plateau Station Plateau Station is an inactive American research and South Pole—Queen Maud Land Traverse support base on the central Antarctic Plateau. Construction on the site started on December 13, 1965, and the first traverse team (named SPQML II) ar ...

where he was scientific leader, 1966, and

Vostok Station Vostok Station (, , ) is a Russian research station in inland Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarctica. Founded by the Soviet Union in 1957, the station lies at the southern Pole of Cold, with the lowest reliably measured natural temperature on ...

where he was U.S. Exchange Scientist, 1974.

Gillick Rock

Gillick Rock () is an isolated rock nunatak lying at the northwest end of the McCuddin Mountains, 8 nautical miles (15 km) north of the summit of Mount Flint. 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

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

tricamera aerial photographs, 1959-66. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant Thomas L. Gillick,

U.S. Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

, helicopter pilot who flew close support for

United States Antarctic Research Program The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has a presence in the ...

(USARP) scientists during

Operation Deep Freeze 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 ...

1970 and 1971.

Mount Petras

Mount Petras () is a high, prominent, ridge-shaped mountain, , standing southeast of Mount Flint. It was discovered by the

US Antarctic Service The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has a presence in the ...

(USAS) on a flight from West Base on December 15, 1940, and named for Theodore A. Petras, master technical sergeant,

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

, pilot of the airplane, a Beechcraft 5PCLB, Model D-17-A, SN357 REG NC20778 on this flight with Dr. Siple.

Navarette Peak

Navarrette Peak () is a rock

peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

marking the southwest extremity of the Mount Petras massif, in the McCuddin Mountains of

. Mapped by

(USGS) from surveys and

air photos, 1959–69. Named by

(US-ACAN) for Captain Claude Navarrette, U.S. Navy, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff to the Commander, U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, during

1972. He also served on the staff during 1969 and 1970.

Schwob Peak

Schwob Peak () is a

standing located south of Mount Petras. Mapped by

(USGS) from surveys and

air photos, 1959-65. Named by US-ACAN for Captain William S. Schwob, USCG,

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of USCGC ''Southwind'' during

1972.

References