Ohio Range
Encyclopedia
The Ohio Range is a mountain range
in the Transantarctic Mountains
of Antarctica. It is about 48 km (30 mi) long and 16 km (10 mi) wide, extending WSW-ENE from Eldridge Peak to Mirsky Ledge. The range forms the northeast end of the Horlick Mountains
and consists primarily of a large snow-topped plateau with steep northern cliffs and several flat-topped ridges and mountains. The highest point is the summit of Mount Schopf (2990 m).
The range was surveyed in 1958-59 by the USARP Horlick Mountains Traverse, and was investigated in 1960-61 and 1961-62 by geologist
s of the Institute of Polar Studies
of The Ohio State University
, for which the range is named.
The central part of the range is occupied by the Buckeye Table, a plateau
, 12 mi long and 2 to 5 mi wide.
The feature is a high level snow surface with precipitous northern cliffs; the plateau surface merges gradually with the inland ice to the south. The name, a nickname of the state of Ohio and Ohio State University, was proposed by William H. Chapman, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) surveyor in these mountains in the 1958-59 season. Ohio State University and its Institute of Polar Studies initiated a program of geological investigation in the Ohio Range and the Horlick Mountains beginning in the 1960-61 season.
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
in the Transantarctic Mountains
Transantarctic Mountains
The three largest mountain ranges on the Antarctic continent are the Transantarctic Mountains , the West Antarctica Ranges, and the East Antarctica Ranges. The Transantarctic Mountains compose a mountain range in Antarctica which extend, with some interruptions, across the continent from Cape Adare...
of Antarctica. It is about 48 km (30 mi) long and 16 km (10 mi) wide, extending WSW-ENE from Eldridge Peak to Mirsky Ledge. The range forms the northeast end of the Horlick Mountains
Horlick Mountains
The Horlick Mountains are a mountain range in the Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica, lying eastward of Reedy Glacier and including the Wisconsin Range, Long Hills and Ohio Range....
and consists primarily of a large snow-topped plateau with steep northern cliffs and several flat-topped ridges and mountains. The highest point is the summit of Mount Schopf (2990 m).
The range was surveyed in 1958-59 by the USARP Horlick Mountains Traverse, and was investigated in 1960-61 and 1961-62 by geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
s of the Institute of Polar Studies
Byrd Polar Research Center
Byrd Polar Research Center, sometimes abbreviated BPRC, is a polar and alpine research center at Ohio State University.- History :The Byrd Polar center at Ohio State University was established in 1960 as the Institute for Polar Studies. The name was changed to in 1987. Research foci were...
of The Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
, for which the range is named.
The central part of the range is occupied by the Buckeye Table, a plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
, 12 mi long and 2 to 5 mi wide.
The feature is a high level snow surface with precipitous northern cliffs; the plateau surface merges gradually with the inland ice to the south. The name, a nickname of the state of Ohio and Ohio State University, was proposed by William H. Chapman, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) surveyor in these mountains in the 1958-59 season. Ohio State University and its Institute of Polar Studies initiated a program of geological investigation in the Ohio Range and the Horlick Mountains beginning in the 1960-61 season.
List of mountains
This range includes the following mountains and peaks:- Discovery Ridge 84°44′S 114°06′W
A broad rock ridge with a rather flat summit area which projects NW from Buckeye Table two miles NW of Mount Glossopteris. The name was suggested by William E. Long, geologist of the Ohio State University expedition to the Horlick Mountains in 1960-61 and 1961-62. The first tillite and the first Devonian brachiopodBrachiopodBrachiopods are a phylum of marine animals that have hard "valves" on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection...
s were discovered by the expedition on this ridge, hence the name.
- Eldridge Peak 84°51′S 111°26′W
A small, mainly ice-free peak, or nunatakNunatakA nunatak is an exposed, often rocky element of a ridge, mountain, or peak not covered with ice or snow within an ice field or glacier. The term is typically used in areas where a permanent ice sheet is present...
, marking the west extremity of the range. Surveyed by the United States Antarctic Research Program (USARP) Horlick Mountains Traverse party in December 1958. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic NamesAdvisory Committee on Antarctic NamesThe 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 Henry M. Eldridge, Antarctic cartographer, Branch of Special Maps, U.S. Geological Survey.
- Mount Glossopteris – 2865 metres (9,400 ft) 84°44′S 113°43′W
A mainly ice-covered mountain which may be identified by the exposed horizontal bedding on the north face, located at the NE end of Buckeye Table. The name was proposed by USARP geologist William Long, a member of the Horlick Mountains Traverse party 1958-59, who, with Charles Bentley, Frederic Darling and Jack Long, climbed to the summit in December 1958. GlossopterisGlossopterisGlossopteris is the largest and best-known genus of the extinct order of seed ferns known as Glossopteridales ....
is a prehistoric fernlike plant whose imprint was found on rocks of this mountain.
- Iversen Peak 84°37′S 111°26′W
A peakSummit (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 miles (4.8 km) east-northeast of Urbanak Peak at the northeast end of the range. Surveyed by the USARP Horlick Mountains Traverse party in December 1958. Named by US-ACAN for Frede Iversen, ionospheric physicist at Byrd StationByrd StationByrd Station refers to a research station established by the United States during the International Geophysical Year by the U.S. Navy during Operation Deep Freeze II in West Antarctica at 80°, 120°W...
in 1960.
- Mirsky Ledge 84°37′S 111°40′W
A snow-covered ledge, or shelf-like feature, about 16 km (10 mi) NE of Mount Schopf. Urbanak Peak and Iversen Peak rise above the ledge which is the apparent northeast extremity of the Horlick Mountains. The geology of these mountains was investigated by researchers from the Institute of Polar Studies, Ohio State University, 1958-62. The ledge was named by US-ACAN for Arthur Mirsky, Assistant Director of the Institute in that period.
- Quartz Pebble Hill 84°44′S 113°59′W
A flat-topped elevation on the north escarpment of Buckeye Table. The hill is located where Discovery Ridge joins the main escarpment. The rock that forms the hill is composed of sandstoneSandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and quartzQuartzQuartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
pebble conglomerateConglomerate (geology)A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
. The name was suggested by William E. Long, geologist of the Ohio State University expedition, who worked in these mountains in 1960-61 and 1961-62.
- Mount Schopf – 2990 metres (9,810 ft) 84°48′S 113°25′W
An elongated, mesa-like, mainly ice-covered mountain located just east of Buckeye Table. Surveyed by the USARP Horlick Mountains Traverse party in Dec. 1958. Named by US-ACAN for James M. Schopf, geologist, Coal and Geology Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Columbus, Ohio, who greatly assisted the field geologist by analyzing coal and related rock specimens from this mountain. Schopf was a member of the Horlick Mountains Party in the 1961-62 season.
- Urbanak Peak 84°38′S 111°55′W
A peak with exposed rock on the north side, situated along Mirsky Ledge. Surveyed by the USARP Horlick Mountains Traverse party in December 1958. Named by US-ACAN for Richard L. Urbanak, meteorologist at Byrd Station in 1960.