The Pensacola Mountains are a large group of mountain range

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...

s and peaks in Antarctica, extending 450 km (280 mi) in a NE-SW direction, comprising the Argentina Range

Argentina Range

The Argentina Range is a mountain range of rock peaks and bluffs, long, lying east of the northern part of Forrestal Range in the northeastern portion of the Pensacola Mountains of Antarctica...

, Forrestal Range

Forrestal Range

The Forrestal Range is a largely snow-covered mountain range, about 105 km long, standing east of Dufek Massif and the Neptune Range in the Pensacola Mountains of Antarctica. Discovered and photographed on January 13, 1956 on a transcontinental patrol plane flight of U.S...

, Dufek Massif, Cordiner Peaks, Neptune Range

Neptune Range

The Neptune Range is a mountain range, long, lying WSW of Forrestal Range in the central part of the Pensacola Mountains in Antarctica. The range is composed of Washington Escarpment with its associated ridges, valleys and peaks, the Iroquois Plateau, and the Schmidt and Williams Hills...

, Patuxent Range

Patuxent Range

The Patuxent Range is a major range of the Pensacola Mountains, comprising the Thomas Hills, Anderson Hills, Mackin Table and various nunataks and ridges bounded by the Foundation Ice Stream, Academy Glacier and the Patuxent Ice Stream. Discovered and partially photographed on January 13, 1956 in...

, Rambo Nunataks and Pecora Escarpment. These mountain units lie astride the extensive Foundation Ice Stream

Foundation Ice Stream

Foundation Ice Stream is a major ice stream in Antarctica's Pensacola Mountains. The ice stream drains northward for 150 miles along the west side of the Patuxent Range and the Neptune Range to enter Ronne Ice Shelf westward of Dufek Massif. The United States Geological Survey mapped the stream...

 and Support Force Glacier

Support Force Glacier

Support Force Glacier is a major glacier in the Pensacola Mountains, draining northward between the Forrestal Range and Argentina Range to the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. Mapped by the United States Geological Survey from surveys and US Navy air photos, 1956-66. Named by US-ACAN for the U.S...

 which drain northward to the Ronne Ice Shelf.

Discovered and photographed on January 13, 1956 in the course of a transcontinental nonstop plane flight by personnel of US Navy Operation Deep Freeze

Operation Deep Freeze

Operation Deep Freeze is the codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on...

 I from McMurdo Sound

McMurdo Sound

The ice-clogged waters of Antarctica's McMurdo Sound extend about 55 km long and wide. The sound opens into the Ross Sea to the north. The Royal Society Range rises from sea level to 13,205 feet on the western shoreline. The nearby McMurdo Ice Shelf scribes McMurdo Sound's southern boundary...

 to Weddell Sea

Weddell Sea

The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is...

 and return. Named by US-ACAN

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...

 for the U.S. Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

, in commemoration of the historic role of that establishment in training aviators of the U.S. Navy. The mountains were mapped in detail by USGS

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,...

from surveys and US Navy air photos, 1956-67.