Pilot Glacier
Encyclopedia
Pilot Glacier is a short, deeply entrenched tributary glacier
in the Mountaineer Range
, descending along the southeast side of Deception Plateau
to enter Aviator Glacier
, in Victoria Land
. Named by the northern party of New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition
(NZGSAE), 1962–63, in recognition of services rendered by pilots of U.S. Navy Squadron VX-6
in Antarctica, and in association with Aviator 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...
in the Mountaineer Range
Mountaineer Range
Mountaineer Range is the range of mountains lying between the Mariner and Aviator Glaciers in Victoria Land, Antarctica. The seaward parts of the range were first viewed by Ross in 1841, and subsequently by several British and later American expeditions. The precise mapping of its overall features...
, descending along the southeast side of Deception Plateau
Deception Plateau
Deception Plateau is a high, ice-covered plateau, 11 miles long and 6 miles wide, which is bounded by Aviator Glacier, Pilot Glacier and Mount Overlord, in Victoria Land. So named by the southern party of New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition , 1966–67, because of its deceptively...
to enter Aviator Glacier
Aviator Glacier
Aviator Glacier is major valley glacier, over 60 miles long and 5 miles wide, descending generally southward from the plateau of Victoria Land along the west side of Mountaineer Range, and entering Lady Newnes Bay between Cape Sibbald and Hayes Head where it forms the Aviator Glacier Tongue...
, in Victoria Land
Victoria Land
Victoria Land is a region of Antarctica bounded on the east by the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and on the west by Oates Land and Wilkes Land. It was discovered by Captain James Clark Ross in January 1841 and named after the UK's Queen Victoria...
. Named by the northern party of 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), 1962–63, in recognition of services rendered by pilots of U.S. Navy Squadron VX-6
VX-6
Air Development Squadron Six was a United States Navy Air Development Squadron based at McMurdo Station, Antarctica...
in Antarctica, and in association with Aviator Glacier.