Skelton Glacier
Encyclopedia
Skelton Glacier 78.6935°N 161.6424°W is a large glacier
flowing from the polar plateau into the Ross Ice Shelf
at Skelton Inlet
on the Hillary Coast
, south of Victoria Land
, Antarctica.
party of the CTAE
, 1956-58. The glacier was chosen in 1957 as the New Zealand party's route from the Ross Ice Shelf
to the polar plateau in support of the main expedition led by Vivian Fuchs
to make the first overland crossing of the continent. Allison Glacier
descends from the west slopes of Royal Society Range
into Skelton Glacier.
It was also the route of the four month 2400 kilometres (1,491.3 mi) Victoria Land Traverse 1959-1960 which ascended the Skelton Glacier from the Ross Ice Shelf to make the first entry into the deep interior of Victoria Land from the head of the Skelton Glacier to the French Adelie Land Traverse of 1958-1959 near Dumont d'Urville Station on George V Coast, and thence to the Transantarctic Mountains in the vicinity of the USARP Mountains.
2. "New Zealand and the Antarctic" by L.B.Quatermain. 1971. A. R. Shearer, Government Printer, Wellington, New Zealand.
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...
flowing from the polar plateau into the 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...
at Skelton Inlet
Skelton Inlet
The Skelton Inlet is an ice-filled inlet at the terminus of the Skelton Glacier, along the western edge of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The feature is about 16 km wide at the entry points between Cape Timberlake and Fishtail Point, where it is about 1500 m deep. Its deepest point is...
on the Hillary Coast
Hillary Coast
Hillary Coast is that portion of the coast along the west margin of the Ross Ice Shelf between Minna Bluff and Cape Selborne. Named by New Zealand Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1961 for Sir Edmund Hillary, leader of the New Zealand Party of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1956-58...
, south of 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...
, Antarctica.
Discovery and naming
Named after the Skelton Inlet by the New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
party of the CTAE
Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition
The 1955–58 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition was a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole...
, 1956-58. The glacier was chosen in 1957 as the New Zealand party's route from the 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...
to the polar plateau in support of the main expedition led by Vivian Fuchs
Vivian Fuchs
Sir Vivian Ernest Fuchs FRS was an English explorer whose expeditionary team completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica in 1958.- Biography :...
to make the first overland crossing of the continent. Allison Glacier
Allison Glacier (Antarctica)
Allison Glacier is a small glacier in Victoria Land, Antarctica. Its head is located just north of Mount Huggins, descending from the west slopes of Royal Society Range into Skelton Glacier...
descends from the west slopes of Royal Society Range
Royal Society Range
The Royal Society Range is a majestic mountain range in Victoria Land, Antarctica. With its summit at , the massive Mount Lister forms the highest point in this range. Mount Lister is located along the western shore of McMurdo Sound between the Koettlitz, Skelton and Ferrar glaciers...
into Skelton Glacier.
It was also the route of the four month 2400 kilometres (1,491.3 mi) Victoria Land Traverse 1959-1960 which ascended the Skelton Glacier from the Ross Ice Shelf to make the first entry into the deep interior of Victoria Land from the head of the Skelton Glacier to the French Adelie Land Traverse of 1958-1959 near Dumont d'Urville Station on George V Coast, and thence to the Transantarctic Mountains in the vicinity of the USARP Mountains.
Further reading
1. Antarctica, by A.S.Helm and J.H.Miller. The story of the New Zealand Party of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition. 1964. R.E.Owen, Government Printer, Wellington, New Zealand.2. "New Zealand and the Antarctic" by L.B.Quatermain. 1971. A. R. Shearer, Government Printer, Wellington, New Zealand.