The Playfair Mountains () are a group of mountains between

Swann Glacier Wright Inlet () is an ice-filled inlet receding westward between Cape Little and Cape Wheeler along the east coast of Palmer Land, Antarctica. Location Wright Inlet is on the Lassiter Coast of southern Palmer Land, opening onto the Weddell Se ...

and Squires Glacier in southeast

Palmer Land Palmer Land () is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica that lies south of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This application of Palmer Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the Advisory Committee on Antarctic N ...

, Antarctica.

Location

The Playfair Mountains are in southern

on the

Lassiter Coast The Lassiter Coast is the portion of the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula that extends from Cape Mackintosh to Cape Adams. The northern portion of this coast was discovered and photographed from the air by the United States Antarctic Service ...

of the

Weddell Sea The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha C ...

. They lie between the

to the north and the Squires Glacier to the south, which converge to the east of the Playfair Mountains and flow into

Wright Inlet Wright Inlet () is an ice-filled inlet receding westward between Cape Little and Cape Wheeler along the east coast of Palmer Land, Antarctica. Location Wright Inlet is on the Lassiter Coast of southern Palmer Land, opening onto the Weddell Sea ...

on the coast. The

Guettard Range The Guettard Range () is a mountain range, long and wide, located northwest of Bowman Peninsula and between Johnston Glacier and Irvine Glacier, in the southeastern extremity of Palmer Land, Antarctica. Location The Guettard Range is in so ...

is to the southwest, the Hutton Mountains to the southeast, the

Werner Mountains The Werner Mountains () are a group of mountains located just west-southwest of New Bedford Inlet and between the Meinardus Glacier and Bryan Glacier, in Palmer Land, Antarctica. Location The Werner Mountains are in southern Palmer Land on t ...

to the northeast. The interior ice plateau to the west is mostly featureless, with a few isolated

nunatak A nunatak (from Inuit language, Inuit ) is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They often form natural pyramidal peaks. Isolated nunataks are also cal ...

s. Features include Mount Coman, Mount Kapi and Squires Peak. Features to the west include Lang Nunatak, Gomez Nunatak and Savin Nunatak.

Discovery and name

The Playfair Mountains were first seen and photographed from the air 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. They 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 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 photographs, 1961–67. They were 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

John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...

(1748–1819), Scottish mathematician and geologist.

Features

Features and nearby features include:

Mount Coman

. A prominent isolated mountain which rises above the ice-covered plateau of Palmer Land, located just westward of the Playfair Mountains. Discovered by the

Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition The Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (RARE) was an expedition from 1947–1948 which researched the area surrounding the head of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. Background Finn Ronne led the RARE which was the final privately sponsored exp ...

(RARE), 1947-48, under

Finn Ronne Finn Ronne (December 20, 1899 – January 12, 1980) was a Norwegian-born U.S. citizen and Antarctic explorer. Background Finn Ronne was born in Horten, in Vestfold county, Norway. His father, Martin Rønne (1861–1932), was a polar explorer ...

, who named this mountain for Doctor F. Dana Coman, physician with 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) of 1928-30.

Mount Kane

. A mountain standing west-southwest of Squires Peak in the Playfair Mountains. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1961-67. Named by US-ACAN for Alan F. Kane, construction mechanic with the South Pole Station winter party in 1964.

Squires Peak

. A peak marking the eastern extremity of the Playfair Mountains. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1961-67. Named by US-ACAN for Donald F. Squires, biologist, member of the

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 ...

–Eastwind Expedition, summer 1965-66.

Lang Nunatak

. An isolated nunatak lying in the interior of southern Palmer Land, about west of the head of Irvine Glacier. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1961-67. Named by US-ACAN for James F. Lang, USARP Assistant Representative at Byrd Station, summer 1965-66.

Gomez Nunatak

. An isolated nunatak southwest of Mount Vang, surmounting the interior ice plateau near the base of Antarctic Peninsula. Mapped by USGS from ground surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1961-67. Named by US-ACAN for Jose M. Gomez, mechanic with the Eights Station winter party in 1965.

Savin Nunatak

. An isolated nunatak southwest of Mount Vang, rising above the ice plateau at the base of Palmer Land. Mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1961-67. Named by US-ACAN for Samuel M. Savin, glaciologist at Byrd Station, summer 1965-66.

References

Sources

* * {{Include-USGov , agency=United States Geological Survey Mountain ranges of Palmer Land