Uranus Glacier
Encyclopedia
Uranus Glacier is a glacier
on the east coast of Alexander Island
, 20 miles (32 km) long and 6 miles (10 km) wide at its mouth, flowing east into George VI Sound
immediately south of Fossil Bluff
.
The glacier was probably first seen by Lincoln Ellsworth
, who flew directly over it and photographed segments of this coast on November 23, 1935. The portion near the mouth of the glacier was first roughly surveyed in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition
(BGLE). It was named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) for the planet Uranus
following the resurvey of its lower portions by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1948 and 1949. The entire glacier was mapped from air photos taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition
(RARE), 1947-48, by Searle of the FIDS in 1960.
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...
on the east coast of Alexander Island
Alexander Island
Alexander Island or Alexander I Island or Alexander I Land or Alexander Land is the largest island of Antarctica, with an area of lying in the Bellingshausen Sea west of the base of the Antarctic Peninsula, from which it is separated by Marguerite Bay and George VI Sound. Alexander Island lies off...
, 20 miles (32 km) long and 6 miles (10 km) wide at its mouth, flowing east into George VI Sound
George VI Sound
George VI Sound or Canal Jorge VI or Canal Presidente Sarmiento or Canal Seaver or King George VI Sound or King George the Sixth Sound is a major bay/fault depression, 300 miles long in the shape of the letter J, which skirts the east and south shores of Alexander Island, separating it from the...
immediately south of Fossil Bluff
Fossil Bluff
Fossil Bluff is a British Antarctic Survey forward operating station. The bluff is a collection of buildings and facilities, at the centre of which lies the hut....
.
The glacier was probably first seen by Lincoln Ellsworth
Lincoln Ellsworth
Lincoln Ellsworth was an arctic explorer from the United States.-Birth:He was born on May 12, 1880 to James Ellsworth and Eva Frances Butler in Chicago, Illinois...
, who flew directly over it and photographed segments of this coast on November 23, 1935. The portion near the mouth of the glacier was first roughly surveyed in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition
British Graham Land Expedition
A British expedition to Graham Land led by John Lachlan Cope took place between 1920 and 1922. The British Graham Land Expedition was a geophysical and exploration expedition to Graham Land in Antarctica between 1934 to 1937. Under the leadership of John Riddoch Rymill, the expedition spent two...
(BGLE). It was named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) for the planet Uranus
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus , the father of Cronus and grandfather of Zeus...
following the resurvey of its lower portions by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1948 and 1949. The entire glacier was mapped from air photos taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition
Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition
The Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition was an expedition from 1947-1948 which researched the area surrounding the head of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica.-Background:...
(RARE), 1947-48, by Searle of the FIDS in 1960.