Upper Staircase
Encyclopedia
Upper Staircase is the upper eastern portion of Skelton Glacier
, just north of The Landing, which merges into the Skelton Neve
in the Hillary Coast
region of the Ross Dependency
. Surveyed in 1957 by the New Zealand
party of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition
(1956–58) and so named because of its staircase effect in being the key for the approach to the polar plateau.
Skelton Glacier
Skelton Glacier 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.-Discovery and naming:...
, just north of The Landing, which merges into the Skelton Neve
Skelton Neve
Skelton Neve is the immense neve of the Skelton Glacier, lying on the west side of the Royal Society Range. Almost circular in outline, it is about 40 miles in diameter and has an area of about 1,300 square miles. It was surveyed by New Zealand parties of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic...
in 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...
region of the Ross Dependency
Ross Dependency
The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160° east to 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60° south...
. Surveyed in 1957 by the New Zealand
New 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 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition
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) and so named because of its staircase effect in being the key for the approach to the polar plateau.