Mount Overlord is a very large

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 ...

which is an extinct

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

, situated at the northwest limit of Deception Plateau, 50 miles inland from the

Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who ...

and just east of the head of Aviator Glacier 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 ...

. Its asymmetrical cone is on the edge of a plateau above Aviator Glacier. While most of the cone is ice-covered, Mount Overlord does have a diameter caldera. Volcanic rocks from the western slope have been dated to about seven million years, so the volcano is thought to be extinct. It was so named by the northern 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), 1962–63, because it "overlords" lesser peaks in the area. MountOverlordMap

Sources

* * Three-thousanders of Antarctica Volcanoes of Victoria Land Mountaineer Range Extinct volcanoes Miocene stratovolcanoes Borchgrevink Coast Stratovolcanoes of Antarctica {{BorchgrevinkCoast-geo-stub

See also

Sources