Staten Island Heights () is a predominantly flat, ice-covered upland between Greenville Valley and

Alatna Valley Alatna Valley () is an ice-free valley lying north of Mount Gran and trending east-northeast for about along the southeast side of the Convoy Range, Antarctica. Exploration and naming Parker Calkin, U.S. geologist, made stratigraphic studie ...

in the Convoy Range of

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 ...

, Antarctica.

Exploration and naming

Staten Island Heights were 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 ground surveys and Navy air photos. They were named by the

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) in 1964 for the USS ''Staten Island'', an icebreaker in the American convoy to

McMurdo Sound The McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica, known as the southernmost passable body of water in the world, located approximately from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841 and named it after Lieutenant ...

in several seasons beginning in 1956–57.

Location

The Staten Island Heights are in the center of the Convoy Range. To the east is the Flight Deck Névé, which feeds the Benson Glacier,

Northwind Glacier Fry Glacier () is a glacier draining the slopes at the northeast corner of the Convoy Range and flowing along the south end of the Kirkwood Range into Tripp Bay, Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was first charted by the British Antarctic Expeditio ...

and

Atka Glacier Fry Glacier () is a glacier draining the slopes at the northeast corner of the Convoy Range and flowing along the south end of the Kirkwood Range into Tripp Bay, Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was first charted by the British Antarctic Expeditio ...

. The

Elkhorn Ridge Greenville Valley () is the large mainly ice-free valley lying south of Elkhorn Ridge in the Convoy Range of Victoria Land, Antarctica. A lobe of the Northwind Glacier flows a short distance west into the mouth of the valley. Near the head of the ...

is to the north, the

Cambridge Glacier Mackay Glacier () is a large glacier in Victoria Land, descending eastward from the Antarctic Plateau, between the Convoy Range and Clare Range, into the southern part of Granite Harbour. It was discovered by the South magnetic pole party of the ...

to the west and Battleship Promontory and Alatna Valley to the south. Prominent peaks include Mount Gunn, Larson Crag and Mount Razorback.

Features

Named features in and around the heights include:

Battleship Promontory

. A sandstone promontory which rises from the floor of Alatna Valley near its head. The name was suggested by Parker Calkin, United States geologist who made stratigraphic studies in the valley in the 1960-61 season.

Schwall Peak

. A rock summit rising to west of Sharpend Glacier. The feature forms the extremity of a rock ledge at the south edge of Staten Island Heights. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) (1999) after Captain

Karen Schwall Karen Schwall, also known as Karen Schwall-Meyer, was the first female U.S. Army officer in Antarctica, and the first woman to manage McMurdo Station. Biography Karen Schwall was from Crystal Lake, Illinois, and attended the University of Dubuqu ...

, the first female U.S. Army Officer in Antarctica, who specialized in logistics and air and ship operations, 1988-91. She became the Logistics Manager with Antarctic Support Associates, 1991-96, and was central during the transfer of the supply and transportation logistics from the military to the civilian support.

Mount Basurto

is an ice-free mountain rising to at the south end of Noring Terrace An ice-free mountain rising to at the south end of Noring Terrace. Named by the US-ACAN (2007) after Juan Basurto, cargo specialist, and a member of the U.S. Antarctic Program logistics operation, who contributed to the movement of science team cargo to and from McMurdo Station in 21 austral field seasons from 1986 through 2007.

Noring Terrace

. A relatively level ice-covered terrace rising to with an area of about between Mount Gunn and Mount Basurto. Ice from the terrace drains westward into

and also eastward in the short

Scudding Glacier Alatna Valley () is an ice-free valley lying north of Mount Gran and trending east-northeast for about along the southeast side of the Convoy Range, Antarctica. Exploration and naming Parker Calkin, U.S. geologist, made stratigraphic studie ...

toward Battleship Promontory. Named by US-ACAN (2007) after Randy (Crunch) Noring who served 16 summer seasons and two winters in Antarctica between 1991 and 2007 at the South Pole and McMurdo Stations, working in operations, heavy equipment and fuels, and since 1999 as the Camp Manager at

Marble Point Marble Point is a rocky promontory on the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica. The United States operates a station at the point. The outpost is used as a helicopter refueling station supporting scientific research in the nearby continental inter ...

Mount Gunn

. Massive mountain, high, standing in the Convoy Range about northwest of Mount Gran. Photographed in 1957 by the New Zealand Northern Survey Party of the

Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE) of 1955–1958 was a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole. It was the first expedition to reach the South ...

(CTAE) (1956-58) and named by them for Bernard M. Gunn, a member of the party.

Forecastle Summit

. The highest mountain summit, high, in the north part of Staten Island Heights, with a rounded top that gives a commanding view of Fry Glacier and Benson Glacier. One of the nautical names in Convoy Range. So named by a NZARP field party in the 1989-90 season.

Pascoe Glacier

. A

cirque A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...

glacier, long, which flows into

Greenville Valley Greenville Valley () is the large mainly ice-free valley lying south of Elkhorn Ridge in the Convoy Range of Victoria Land, Antarctica. A lobe of the Northwind Glacier flows a short distance west into the mouth of the valley. Near the head of the ...

from the north end of Staten Island Heights. The name was applied by geologist Christopher J. Burgess, VUWAE party leader in the 1976-77 season. Named after John D. Pascoe (1909-72), New Zealand mountaineer, photographer, and author of books on New Zealand mountains and alpine subjects; Chief Archivist, Department of Internal Affairs, 1963.

Larson Crag

. A prominent rocky summit, over high, at the north end of Staten Island Heights. Mapped by the

(USGS) from ground surveys and Navy air photos. Named by the United States

(US-ACAN) in 1964 for Commander Wesley Larson, commanding officer of the USS Staten Island in Antarctic waters, 1959-60.

Mount Razorback

. A craggy mountain rising to about high east of Staten Island Heights. The descriptive name was applied by the 1957 New Zealand Northern Survey Party of the CTAE, 1956-58.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Islands of Victoria Land Scott Coast