Gambacorta Peak () is a peak high, standing east of Mount Kaschak in the southern

Neptune Range The Neptune Range () is a mountain range, long, lying west-southwest of Forrestal Range in the central part of the Pensacola Mountains, Antarctica. The range comprises Washington Escarpment with its associated ridges, valleys and peaks, the Iro ...

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.

Mapping and name

Gambacorta Peak 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 ...

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 from 1956 to 1966. It was 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 ...

for Captain Francis M. Gambacorta, captain of the USS ''Wyandot'' that transported the party which established

Ellsworth Station Ellsworth Scientific Station (, or simply ''Estación Ellsworth'' or ''Base Ellsworth'') was a permanent, all year-round originally American, then Argentine Antarctic scientific research station named after American polar explorer Lincoln Ellswo ...

at the outset of the

International Geophysical Year The International Geophysical Year (IGY; ), also referred to as the third International Polar Year, was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War w ...

. Unloading at the station site on the

Filchner Ice Shelf Wilhelm Filchner (13 September 1877 – 7 May 1957) was a German army officer, scientist and explorer. He conducted several surveys and scientific investigations in China, Tibet and surrounding regions, and led the Second German Antarctic Expediti ...

began January 29, 1957.

Location

Gambacorta Peak is a high point in the southern end of the

Washington Escarpment The Neptune Range () is a mountain range, long, lying west-southwest of Forrestal Range in the central part of the Pensacola Mountains, Antarctica. The range comprises Washington Escarpment with its associated ridges, valleys and peaks, the Ir ...

, which runs from south to north through the Neptune Range. It is northeast of the Academy Glacier. The

Antarctic Plateau The Antarctic Plateau, Polar Plateau or King Haakon VII Plateau is a large area of East Antarctica that extends over a diameter of about , and includes the region of the geographic South Pole and the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station. Thi ...

is to the east. Nearby features include Mount Harper, Mount Kashak and Mount Bragg to the southwest, Mount Feldkotter to the south, and Patrick Nunatak, Seay Nunatak and Hill Nunatak to the east. Wiens Peak and Elliott Ridge are to the north.

Nearby features

The nearby features were mapped by USGS from surveys and United States Navy air photos, 1956-66.

Mount Harper

. A peak, high, standing west of Mount Kaschak. Named by US-ACAN for Ronald B. Harper, electronics technician at Ellsworth Station, winter 1958.

Mount Kaschak

. A peak, high, standing west of Gambacorta Peak in southern Neptune Range. Named by US-ACAN for John P. Kaschak, aviation machinist at Ellsworth Station, winter 1958.

Mount Bragg

. A mountain, high, standing southwest of Gambacorta Peak. Named by US-ACAN for Ralph L. Bragg, photographer with United States Navy Squadron VX-6 at McMurdo Station in 1964.

Mount Feldkotter

. A mountain, high, standing south of Gambacorta Peak. Named by US-ACAN for Henry H.J. Feldkotter, aviation electrician at Ellsworth Station, winter 1958.

Final Rock

. An isolated rock standing south of Mount Feldkotter at the south extremity of the Neptune Range. So named by US-ACAN because it is the southernmost rock of the Neptune Range.

Patrick Nunatak

. A nunatak southeast of Gambacorta Peak. Named by US-ACAN for Frank M. Patrick, aerographer at Ellsworth Station, winter 1958.

Seay Nunatak

. A nunatak standing south of Hill Nunatak. Named by US-ACAN for William K. Seay, utilities man at Ellsworth Station, winter 1958.

Wiens Peak

. A peak at the east end of Elliott Ridge in southern Neptune Range,. Named by US-ACAN for Rudolph H. Wiens, aurora scientist at Ellsworth Station, winter 1962.

Elliott Ridge

. A hook-shaped ridge, long, extending westward from Wiens Peak. Named by US-ACAN for Commander James Elliott, captain of the icebreaker USS Stalten Island which assisted the cargo ship Wyandot through the Weddell Sea pack ice to establish Ellsworth Station on the Filchner Ice Shelf in January 1957.

References

Sources

* * * * Mountains of Queen Elizabeth Land Pensacola Mountains {{QueenElizabethLand-geo-stub