Whitney Peak is a conspicuous peak

Summit (topography)

In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...

 (3,005 m) rising 3 nautical miles (6 km) northwest of Mount Hampton

Mount Hampton

Mount Hampton is a shield volcano with a circular ice-filled crater occupying much of the summit area. It is the northernmost of the extinct volcanoes which comprise the Executive Committee Range in Marie Byrd Land....

, from which it is separated by a distinctive ice-covered saddle, in the northernmost part of the Executive Committee Range

Executive Committee Range

The Executive Committee Range is a range consisting of five major mountains, volcanic in origin, which trends north-south for along the 126th meridian west, in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica....

, Marie Byrd Land

Marie Byrd Land

Marie Byrd Land is the portion of West Antarctica lying east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and south of the Pacific Ocean, extending eastward approximately to a line between the head of the Ross Ice Shelf and Eights Coast. It stretches between 158°W and 103°24'W...

. Mapped by United States Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...

 (USGS) from surveys and U.S. Navy aerial photographs, 1958-60. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names

The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending names for features in Antarctica...

 (US-ACAN) for Captain Herbert Whitney, U.S. Navy Reserve, commander of the Navy's Mobile Construction Battalion responsible for the building of Antarctic stations for use during the International Geophysical Year

International Geophysical Year

The International Geophysical Year was an international scientific project that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West was seriously interrupted...

. Whitney wintered over at Little America V in 1956.