The Mackay Mountains () are a prominent group of peaks south of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

in the

Ford Ranges The Ford Ranges () are a collection of mountain groups and ranges standing east of Sulzberger Ice Shelf and Block Bay in the northwest part of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Location The Ford Ranges lie along the coast of Marie Byrd Land to the s ...

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 ...

, Antarctica.

Location

The Mackay Mountains are south of the upper

Boyd Glacier Sulzberger Ice Shelf () is an ice shelf about long and wide bordering the coast of Marie Byrd Land between Edward VII Peninsula and Guest Peninsula in Antarctica. Exploration and name The Sulzberger Ice Shelf was observed and roughly mapped ...

and east of the

Hammond Glacier Sulzberger Ice Shelf () is an ice shelf about long and wide bordering the coast of Marie Byrd Land between Edward VII Peninsula and Guest Peninsula in Antarctica. Exploration and name The Sulzberger Ice Shelf was observed and roughly mapped b ...

. They are southeast of the

Sarnoff Mountains Sarnoff Mountains () is a range of mountains, long and wide separating the west-flowing Boyd Glacier and Arthur Glacier in the Ford Ranges of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Location The Sarnoff Mountains are in the Ford Ranges. They run in a ...

, south of the

and southwest of the Clark Mountains. The isolated Lewisohn Nunatak is to the southeast. Features, from west to east, include Vivian Nunatak, Mount Monson and Mount Palombo.

Geology

The Mackay Mountains and Lewisohn Nunatak contain the Lewisohn Member, a volcano-dominated unit of the Swanson Formation, which is a quartzose metaflysch sequence at least thick that was probably deposited on a submarine fan. In Mackay Mountains the isochron age for the metamorphism of the Swanson Formation is 444 ± 4Ma.

Discovery and name

The Mackay Mountains were discovered 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 ...

(ByrdAE) in 1934. They were named for

Clarence Mackay Clarence Hungerford Mackay (; April 17, 1874 – November 12, 1938) was an American financier. He was chairman of the board of the Postal Telegraph and Cable Corporation and president of the Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company. Early life H ...

of the Postal Telegraph and Mackay Radio Companies, a benefactor of the expedition.

Features

Features and nearby features include:

Vivian Nunatak

. A nunatak which marks the southwest extremity of the Mackay Mountains. Mapped by the

United States 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; 1939–41) and by the

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 surveys and United States Navy air photos (1959-65). Named by the United States

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 Lieutenant John F. Vivian, United States Navy Reserve, co-pilot of LC-130F Hercules aircraft during Operation Deep Freeze 1968.

Mount Monson

. The highest summit, high, in the Mackay Mountains, situated northeast of Vivian Nunatak in the southwest part of the group. Mapped by USAS (1939–41) and by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos (1959-65) Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant Laurence C. Monson III, United States Navy Reserve, co-pilot of LC-130F Hercules aircraft during Operation Deep Freeze 1968.

Mount Palombo

. A mountain high marking the northeast end of the Mackay Mountains. Mapped by USAS (1939–41) and by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos (1959-65). Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant Robert A. Palombo, United States Navy, aircraft commander during Operation Deep Freeze 1968.

Lewisohn Nunatak

. An isolated nunatak, high, southeast of the Mackay Mountains. Discovered and mapped by the USAS (1939-41). Named by US-ACAN for Walter P. Lewisohn, radio operator with the ByrdAE (1933-35).

References

Sources

* * * * {{Authority control Ford Ranges