The Merz Peninsula () is an irregular, ice-covered peninsula, about long in an east–west direction and averaging wide, between

Hilton Inlet Hilton Inlet () is an ice-filled inlet, wide, which recedes about west from its entrance between Cape Darlington and Cape Knowles, along the east coast of Palmer Land, Antarctica. Location Hilton Inlet is on the east coast of Palmer Land, n ...

and

Violante Inlet Violante Inlet () is an ice-filled inlet long, in an east–west direction, and wide, lying between Cape Fanning and Cape Herdman along the east coast of Palmer Land, Antarctica. Location The Violante Inlet is on the Black Coast of Palmer L ...

on the east coast of

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 Merz Peninsula is on the

Black Coast Black Coast is the portion of the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula between Cape Boggs and Cape Mackintosh. This coast was discovered and photographed from the air by members of the East Base of the U.S. Antarctic Service, 1939–41, on a f ...

, beside 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 ...

to the east. It is south of

and north of

. The Wilson Mountains and Hjort Massif are to the northwest. The

Spiess Glacier Hilton Inlet () is an ice-filled inlet, wide, which recedes about west from its entrance between Cape Darlington and Cape Knowles, along the east coast of Palmer Land, Antarctica. Location Hilton Inlet is on the east coast of Palmer Land, n ...

runs north from the west side of the peninsula into Hilton Inlet. The Böhnecke Glacier runs southeast along the south side of the peninsula into Violante Inlet. Features, from north to south, include Cape Darlington, Schott Inlet, Flagon Point, Cape Christmas, Wüst Inlet, Old Mans Head and

Cape Fanning Violante Inlet () is an ice-filled inlet long, in an east–west direction, and wide, lying between Cape Fanning and Cape Herdman along the east coast of Palmer Land, Antarctica. Location The Violante Inlet is on the Black Coast of Palmer ...

Discovery and name

The Merz Peninsula was discovered and photographed from the air in December 1940 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). During 1947 it was photographed from the air 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) 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 in conjunction with the

Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey The Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition (FIDASE) was an aerial survey of the Falkland Islands Dependencies The Falkland Islands Dependencies was the constitutional arrangement from 1843 until 1985 for administering the v ...

(FIDS) charted it from the ground. The peninsula was named by the FIDS for

Alfred Merz Alfred Merz (24 January 1880 – 16 August 1925) was an Austrian geographer, oceanographer and director of the Institute of Marine Science in Berlin. He died of pneumonia in Buenos Aires while on an expedition to survey the South Atlantic an ...

(1880-1925), a noted

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...

and the original leader of the German expedition in the ''

Meteor A meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star, is a glowing streak of a small body (usually meteoroid) going through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a ...

'', 1925–26.

Features

Schott Inlet

. A small ice-filled inlet indenting the east side of Merz Peninsula close south of Cape Darlington. Discovered and photographed from the air in December 1940 by the USAS. Charted in 1947 by a joint party consisting of members of the RARE under Ronne and the FIDS. Named by the FIDS for Gerhard Schott, internationally known German oceanographer.

Flagon Point

. , A point surmounted by two peaks, high, marking the south side of the entrance to Schott Inlet. Discovered and photographed from the air in December 1940 by members of the USAS. It was charted in 1947 by a joint party consisting of members of the RARE and FIDS. So named by the FIDS because the two peaks are suggestive of a flagon tilted on its side when viewed from north or south.

Cape Christmas

. Abrupt rock cape which rises to high, marking the north side of the entrance to Wüst Inlet. Discovered and photographed from the air in December 1940 by the USAS. During 1947 it was photographed from the air by the RARE under Ronne, who in conjunction with the FIDS charted it from the ground. So named by the FIDS because the joint party in 1947 spent Christmas Day in this vicinity.

Wüst Inlet

. An ice-filled inlet, from wide, indenting the east side of Merz Peninsula between Cape Christmas and Old Mans Head. The inlet was photographed from the air in 1940 by members of the USAS. During 1947 the inlet was photographed from the air by members of the RARE, who in conjunction with the FIDS charted it from the ground. Named by the FIDS for Professor Georg Wüst, German oceanographer.

Old Mans Head

. A dark headland marking the south side of the entrance to Wüst Inlet. Discovered and photographed from the air in December 1940 by members of the US AS. During 1947 the headland was photographed from the air by the RARE, who in conjunction with the FIDS charted it from the ground. This descriptive name was given by the FIDS.

Nearby features

Butler Island

. A circular, ice-covered island wide which rises to high, lying east of Merz Peninsula. Discovered and photographed from the air in December 1940 by the USAS. During 1947 it was photographed from the air by the RARE, who in conjunction with the FIDS charted it from the ground. Named by the FIDS for K.S.P. Butler, FIDS commander in 1947–48.

Wilson Mountains

. A group of mountains including Hjort Massif, rising to about high to the west of Merz Peninsula. The feature is bounded to the west by

Du Toit Mountains The Du Toit Mountains () are a group of mountains about long and wide, to the south-west of the Wilson Mountains in southeastern Palmer Land, Antarctica. The mountains have peaks rising to and are bounded by Beaumont Glacier, Maury Glacier an ...

, to north by

Beaumont Glacier Hilton Inlet () is an ice-filled inlet, wide, which recedes about west from its entrance between Cape Darlington and Cape Knowles, along the east coast of Palmer Land, Antarctica. Location Hilton Inlet is on the east coast of Palmer Land, n ...

and

, and to south by

Defant Glacier Violante Inlet () is an ice-filled inlet long, in an east–west direction, and wide, lying between Cape Fanning and Cape Herdman along the east coast of Palmer Land, Antarctica. Location The Violante Inlet is on the Black Coast of Palmer L ...

. First photographed from the air by USAS, 1940. 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 United States Navy aerial photographs taken 1966-69. In association with the names of continental drift scientists grouped in this area, 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) after John Tuzo Wilson (1908-93), Canadian geophysicist who visited Antarctica on United States Navy

Operation Deep Freeze Operation Deep Freeze is the code name for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on. (There was an init ...

, 1958; Professor of Geophysics, University of Toronto, 1946-74; Director-General, Ontario Science Centre, 1974-85.

Hjort Massif

. A salient mountain rising to about high at the northeast end of the Wilson Mountains, on the south side of

. Photographed from the air by USAS, 1940. Mapped by USGS from aerial photographs taken by the United States Navy, 1966-69. Surveyed by the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of list of global issues, global issues, and to provide an active prese ...

(BAS), 1974-75. Named by the

UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee The UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (or UK-APC) is a United Kingdom government committee, part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responsible for recommending names of geographical locations within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) an ...

(UK-APC) in 1977 after Johan Hjort (1869-1948), Professor of Marine Biology, University of Oslo, 1920-39; Chairman of the International Whaling Committee, 1926-39.

References

Sources

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