Mount Vernon Harcourt, also unofficially known as Mount Harcourt, is a conical

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

, that rises over 1,535 meters, making up part of the Hallett Peninsula extending into 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 vi ...

about south of

Mount Erebus Mount Erebus () is the second-highest volcano in Antarctica (after Mount Sidley), the highest active volcano in Antarctica, and the southernmost active volcano on Earth. It is the sixth-highest ultra mountain on the continent. With a summ ...

, along with three overlapping

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more v ...

es. The mountain was discovered in January 1841 by

Sir James Clark Ross Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and polar explorer known for his explorations of the Arctic, participating in two expeditions led by his uncle John Ross, and four led by William Edwa ...

and named by him for the Reverend William Vernon Harcourt, one of the founders of the

British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a Charitable organization, charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Scien ...

. Mount Vernon Harcourt is part of the Hallett Volcanic Province of the

McMurdo Volcanic Group The McMurdo Volcanic Group is a large group of Cenozoic volcanic rocks in the western Ross Sea and central Transantarctic Mountains areas of Antarctica. It is one of the largest provinces of alkaline volcanism in the world, having formed as a resul ...

. Two dates have been obtained from the volcano's rock, roughly 5.5 and 6.6 million years in age. These samples are

alkalic Alkalinity (from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is the capacity of water to resist acidification. It should not be confused with basicity, which is an absolute measurement on the pH scale. Alkalinity is the strengt ...

in composition.

References

Stratovolcanoes of New Zealand Volcanoes of Victoria Land Miocene stratovolcanoes Borchgrevink Coast Stratovolcanoes of Antarctica {{BorchgrevinkCoast-geo-stub

See also

References