Marble Peak is a coastal 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...

, the twin of O'Brien Peak

O'Brien Peak

O'Brien Peak is a rock peak, 670 m, standing 3 nautical miles west of the north extremity of Medina Peaks, along the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf. Discovered in December 1929 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Laurence Gould, and named by Byrd for John S. O'Brien, surveyor with...

 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) to the southeast and almost the same height, overlooking the head of Ross Ice Shelf

Ross Ice Shelf

The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica . It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than 600 km long, and between 15 and 50 metres high above the water surface...

 about midway between Amundsen

Amundsen Glacier

Amundsen Glacier is a major Antarctic glacier, about 6 to 10 km wide and 128 km long, originating on the polar plateau where it drains the area to the south and west of Nilsen Plateau, and descending through the Queen Maud Mountains to enter the Ross Ice Shelf just west of the...

 and Scott Glacier

Scott Glacier (Transantarctic Mountains)

The Scott Glacier is a major glacier, 120 miles long, that drains the East Antarctic Ice Sheet through the Queen Maud Mountains to the Ross Ice Shelf...

s.

The peak was mapped by the 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

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 air photos, 1960-64. The name was applied by New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition

New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition

The New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition describes a series of scientific explorations of the continent Antarctica. The expeditions were notably active in 1957-58 and again in 1958-59. The 1957-58 expedition went to the Ross Dependency and named the Borchgrevink Glacier...

 (NZGSAE), 1969–70, because there are light-colored, whitish bands of marble

Marble

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

crossing straight over its summit.