Kirkpatrick Glacier is a tributary glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

 about 12 nautical miles (22 km) long, flowing west along the south side of McDonald Heights

McDonald Heights

McDonald Heights is a broad, mainly snow-covered heights about 35 nautical miles long and rising over 1,000 m between Cape Burks and Morris Head on the coast of Marie Byrd Land. The heights are bounded southward by the Hull, Kirkpatrick and Johnson Glaciers. The feature was photographed from...

 to enter the east side of Hull Glacier

Hull Glacier

Hull Glacier is a glacier, about 35 nautical miles long, flowing northwest between Mount Giles and Mount Gray into Hull Bay, in Marie Byrd Land. Discovered by the United States Antarctic Service and named for Secretary of State Cordell Hull....

 near the coast of 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 air photos, 1959-65. 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 Commander Thomas W. Kirkpatrick, USCG, Ship Operations Officer, U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, during Deep Freeze

Deep Freeze

Deep Freeze may refer to:* Operation Deep Freeze, a series of American expeditions to Antarctica beginning in 1955* Deep Freeze Range, a mountain range in Antarctica* Deep Freeze , a protective program...

1972 and 1973.