Thomas Glacier () is a roughly Z-shaped

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

which drains the southeast slopes of

Vinson Massif Vinson Massif () is a large mountain massif in Antarctica that is long and wide and lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located ab ...

and flows for 17 nautical miles (31 km) through the south part of the

Sentinel Range The Sentinel Range is a major mountain range situated northward of Minnesota Glacier and forming the northern half of the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica. The range trends NNW-SSE for about and is wide. Many peaks rise over and Vinson Mass ...

Ellsworth Mountains The Ellsworth Mountains are the highest mountain ranges in Antarctica, forming a long and wide chain of mountains in a north to south configuration on the western margin of the Ronne Ice Shelf in Marie Byrd Land. They are bisected by Minneso ...

, leaving the range between Doyran and

Petvar Heights Petvar Heights (, ) are the heights rising to 2492 mReference Elevation Model o ...

south of Johnson Spur. The glacier was discovered by U.S. Navy Squadron

VX-6 Air Development Squadron Six (VX-6 or AIRDEVRON SIX, commonly referred to by its nickname, "puckered penguins") was a United States Navy Air Development Squadron based at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Established at Naval Air Station Patuxent Rive ...

on photographic flights of 14–15 December 1959, and mapped by

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 the photos. It was named by

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 R. Admiral Charles W. Thomas, USCG, veteran of Antarctic expeditions in the 1950s.

Tributaries glaciers

Kornicker Glacier Kornicker Glacier () is a glacier draining northeastwards from the cirque bounded by Mount Liptak, Mount Southwick, Mount Milton and Mount Mullen in the southern Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica. The glacier flows a ...

Saltzman Glacier Saltzman Glacier () is a glacier that drains the north slopes of Mount Allen, the east slopes of Mount Strybing and Karnare Col, and the southeast slopes of Mount Craddock, and flows eastwards between Mount Osborne and Moyher Ridge into ...

* Sowers Glacier *

Aster Glacier Aster Glacier () is an Antarctic glacier descending the east slope of Craddock Massif and flowing between Elfring Peak and Willis Ridge to Thomas Glacier in the Sentinel Range, Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica. It was named by the Advisory ...

* Della Pia Glacier * Obelya Glacier

Maps

Vinson Massif.
Scale 1:250 000 topographic map. Reston, Virginia: US Geological Survey, 1988.
Antarctic Digital Database (ADD).
Scale 1:250000 topographic map of Antarctica. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Since 1993, regularly updated.

References

* Glaciers of Ellsworth Land {{EllsworthLand-glacier-stub

Tributaries glaciers

See also

Maps

References