The Mackin Table () is an ice-topped, wedge-shaped plateau, about long, standing just north of

Patuxent Ice Stream Foundation Ice Stream () is a major ice stream in the Pensacola Mountains of Antarctica. The ice stream drains northward for along the west side of the Patuxent Range and the Neptune Range to enter the Ronne Ice Shelf westward of Dufek Massi ...

in the

Patuxent Range The Patuxent Range () is a major range of the Pensacola Mountains, Antarctica. It comprises the Thomas Hills, Anderson Hills, Mackin Table and various nunataks and ridges bounded by the Foundation Ice Stream, Academy Glacier and the Patuxent I ...

of the

Pensacola Mountains The Pensacola Mountains () are a large group of mountain ranges and peaks that extend in a northeast–southwest direction in the Transantarctic Mountains System, Queen Elizabeth Land region of Antarctica. They comprise the Argentina Range, Forre ...

, Antarctica.

Exploration and name

The Mackin Table was mapped 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 The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

air photos, 1956–66. It was named for J. Hoover Mackin, professor of geology at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, at

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. The name was suggested by

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) geologists who investigated the Pensacola Mountains, several having been students under Mackin.

Location

The Mackin Table is in the southeast of the Patuxent Range, to the south of the Anderson Hills and east of Snake Ridge. The

flows past the south end of the Mackin Table. The east of the table contains the Shurley Ridge, Plankington Bluff, Houk Spur and Mount Dumais. The southern tip contains Mount Tolchin, Lekander Nunatak and Bessinger Nunatak, and is north of Blake Rock. The northern edge of the table holds Mount Weininger, Mount Campleman, Stout Spur, Pierce Peak, the Sullivan Peaks and Mount Wanous. Phillips Nunatak is just north of Sullivan Peaks.

Eastern features

Shurley Ridge

. A partly snow-covered ridge projecting from the southwest side of Mackin Table, southeast of Snake Ridge. 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 Jay T. Shurley, biologist at

South Pole Station South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, summer 1966-67.

Plankington Bluff

. A large rock bluff along the southwest edge of Mackin Table, southeast of Shurley Ridge. Named by US-ACAN for John C. Plankington, Jr., meteorologist at South Pole Station, winter 1967.

Houk Spur

. A bare rock spur extending from the southwest side of Mackin Table, north of Mount Dumais. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant Vernon N. Houk (MC) United States Navy, officer in charge of South Pole Station, winter 1958.

Mount Dumais

. A bluff-type mountain, high, standing on the southwest edge of Mackin Table, north of Lekander Nunatak. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant Clarence C. Dumais (MC) United States Navy, officer in charge of South Pole Station, winter 1960.

Southern features

Mount Tolchin

. A mountain, high, standing southwest of Houk Spur at the southwest extremity of Mackin Table. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant Sidney Tolchin (MC) United States Navy, officer in charge of South Pole Station, winter 1959.

Lekander Nunatak

. A nunatak, high, standing along the southwest edge of Mackin Table, northeast of Bessinger Nunatak. Named by US-ACAN for Bryant A. Lekander, cook at

, winter 1960.

Bessinger Nunatak

. A mound-shaped nunatak, high, standing at the southwest end of Mackin Table, east of Mount Tolchin. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant C.D. Bessinger, Jr. (MC) United States Navy, officer in charge of South Pole Station, winter 1963.

Blake Rock

. An isolated rock lying south of the south end of Mackin Table. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1956-66. Named by US-ACAN for Joseph A. Blake, Jr., construction electrician at South Pole Station, winter 1960.

Northern features

Mount Weininger

. A large, mainly ice-free mountain, high, standing at the north extremity of Mackin Table, to which it is joined by a short ridge. Named by US-ACAN for Richard B. Weininger, scientific leader at South Pole Station, winter 1967.

Mount Campleman

. A flat-topped, projecting-type mountain, high, along the north edge of Mackin Table, west of Stout Spur. Named by US-ACAN for Richard Campleman (CEC) United States Navy, Petty Officer in charge of

Palmer Station Palmer Station is a United States research station in Antarctica located on Anvers island (aka Antwerp Island), the only U.S. station on the continent located north of the Antarctic Circle. The first Palmer was built in 1965, but the current sit ...

, winter 1967.

Stout Spur

. A knife-like rock spur descending from the north edge of Mackin Table, east of Mount Campleman. Named by US-ACAN for Dennis K. Stout, radioman at Palmer Station, winter 1967.

Pierce Peak

. A peak, high, standing south of Sullivan Peaks at the northeast edge of Mackin Table. Named by US-ACAN for Chester M. Pierce who, with Jay T. Shurley, studied the psychophysiology of men while asleep and awake both before, during, and after sojourns at the South Pole Station, in 1966-67.

Sullivan Peaks

. Two sharp peaks, over high, on a spur descending from Pierce Peak on the north side of Mackin Table. Named by US-ACAN for Lieutenant Ronald C. Sullivan, (MC) United States Navy, officer in charge of South Pole Station, winter 1967.

Mount Wanous

. A prominent, bare, conical mountain, high, standing east of Pierce Peak at the northeast edge of Mackin Table. Named by US-ACAN for Richard E. Wanous, geophysicist in the Pensacola Mountains, 1965-66.

Phillips Nunatak

. A nunatak along the edge of a small ice escarpment north of Mount Wanous. Named by US-ACAN for Harry G. Phillips, cook at Palmer Station, winter 1967.

References

Sources

* * * *{{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Plateaus of Antarctica Landforms of Queen Elizabeth Land