Olympus Range
The Olympus Range is a primarily ice-free mountain range of Victoria Land, Antarctica, with peaks over high, between Victoria Valley and McKelvey Valley on the north and Wright Valley on the south.
It is south of the Clare Range and north of the Asgard Range.
Exploration and naming
The Olympus Range was mapped by the Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition, 1958–59, and named for the Mount Olympus, mythological home of the Greek gods.Peaks in the range are named for figures in Greek mythology.
Location
The Olympus Range extends from the Antarctic Plateau to the Wilson Piedmont Glacier on the west coast of the Ross Sea.The range is bounded by the Balham Valley, McKelvey Valley and Victoria Valley to the north, and the Wright Valley to the south.
Glaciers
Glaciers and snowfields include, from west to east, Nakai Snowfield, Orestes Glacier, Cerberus Glacier, Sandy Glacier, Enyo Glacier, Clio Glacier, Eos Glacier, Chinn Glacier and Clark Glacier.Nakai Snowfield
A snowfield at about elevation that occupies the col between Mount Hercules and Mount Jason.Named by US-ACAN after Nobuyuki Nakai, Department of Earth Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan; a participant in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Drilling Project, 1973-76.
Orestes Glacier
A narrow glacier within Orestes Valley, aligned along the valley's north wall.Named after the valley by United States Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names in 1997.
Cerberus Glacier
A glacier, long, fringing the south and east lower slopes of otherwise ice-free Mount Cerberus.Named by US-ACAN in 1997 in association with Mount Cerberus.
Sandy Glacier
A very small glacier high long and high wide) located east of Mount Orestes.The glacier was studied and named by Wakefield Dort, United States Antarctic Research Program geologist with the University of Kansas Expedition, who reported that it is composed throughout of interbedded ice and sand layers.
Enyo Glacier
A south-flowing glacier long situated east of Sandy Glacier in the east part of Olympus Range.Named by New Zealand Geographic Board after Enyo, a goddess of war.
Clio Glacier
A northeast-flowing glacier, long, on the east side of Eurus Ridge.Named by NZGB after the Greek muse of history.
Eos Glacier
A south-flowing glacier, long, between Mount Peleus and Mount Theseus in the east part of Olympus Range.Named by NZGB after the mythological goddess of the dawn.
Chinn Glacier
A glacier long on the south side of Mount Theseus.A hanging glacier, it terminates on the north wall of Wright Valley.
Named by NZGB after Trevor J. H. Chinn of the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited, Christchurch, New Zealand, a glaciologist in McMurdo Dry Valleys for several seasons in the period 1974-93.
Western features
Features to the north of Wright Upper Glacier and the Labyrinth, extending east to Mount Boreas and Mount Thrace, include Hawkins Cirque, Prentice Plateau, Mount Cassidy, Pentecost Cirque, Dean Cirque, Apollo Peak, Dipboye Cirque, Mount Electra, Leibert Cirque, Mount Dido, Mount Circe, Stuiver Valley, Mount Boreas and Mount Thrace.Hawkins Cirque
A cirque about wide, in part occupied by a glacier, near the center of the south cliffs of Prentice Plateau, Olympus Range. The cirque opens south to Wright Upper Glacier.Named by US-ACAN after Jack D. Hawkins, lead PHI helicopter pilot with USAP in eight consecutive field seasons from 1996-97.
Prentice Plateau
A nearly rectangular plateau of about at the north side of Wright Upper Glacier and west of Apollo Peak. The upper surface about high is ice covered except for scoured outcrops.Named by US-ACAN after Michael L. Prentice, Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH; in USAP for 15 years from about 1983 including work in McMurdo Dry Valleys.
Mount Cassidy
A mountain high which forms a salient angle in the northeast part of Prentice Plateau.Rude Spur descends from the east side of the mountain.
Named by US-ACAN after Dennis S. Cassidy, Curator of the Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility and Core Library, Florida State University, Tallahassee, from 1962-1991.
Pentecost Cirque
A cirque between Hawkins Cirque and Dean Cirque on the south side of Olympus Range.The cirque opens south to Wright Upper Glacier.
Named by US-ACAN after John S. Pentecost, PHI helicopter pilot with USAP in seven consecutive field seasons from 1997-98.
Dean Cirque
A cirque between the southeast part of Prentice Plateau and Apollo Peak. The cirque opens south to the Labyrinth.Named by US-ACAN after Christopher T. Dean, PHI helicopter pilot with United States Antarctic Project in eight consecutive field seasons from 1996-97.
Apollo Peak
.A dolerite capped peak rising to high west of Mount Electra.
The peak was named by the NZ-APC in 1984 after work carried out by the NZARP.
Named after the god Apollo, in association with other names from Greek mythology in this range.
Dipboye Cirque
A cirque on the south side of Olympus Range between Apollo Peak and Mount Electra. The cirque opens south to the Labyrinth.Named by US-ACAN after Richard L. Dipboye, PHI helicopter pilot with USAP in eight consecutive field seasons from 1996-97.
Mount Electra
.Prominent peak, over high, immediately west of Mount Dido.
Named by the VUWAE for a figure in Greek mythology.
Leibert Cirque
A cirque between Mount Electra and Mount Dido on the south side of Olympus Range.The cirque opens south to The Labyrinth.
Named by US-ACAN after Gregg Leibert, PHI helicopter pilot with USAP in seven consecutive field seasons from 1996-97.
Mount Dido
.Prominent peak, high, between Mounts Electra and Boreas.
Named by the VUWAE for a figure in Greek mythology.
Mount Circe
.Prominent peak over high, standing just north of Mount Dido.
Named by the VUWAE after a figure in Greek mythology.
Stuiver Valley
A high hanging valley, largely ice free, between Mount Circe and Mount Dido on the west and Mount Boreas on the east.Named by US-ACAN in 1997 after Minze Stuiver, geochemist, Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Quaternary specialist in dating Antarctic samples with United States Antarctic Research Program from 1969 to the time of naming; authority on the glacial history of the McMurdo Sound region and McMurdo Dry Valleys, the location of this valley.
Mount Boreas
.Prominent peak, high, between Mounts Aeolus and Dido.
Named by the VUWAE for a figure in Greek mythology.
Mount Thrace
A peak rising to high at the southeast side of Mount Boreas.The peak is connected by a ridge to the Mount Boreas massif.
Named by US-ACAN after Thrace, legendary home of Boreas.
Central features
Central features, extending from Mount Aeolus east to the Bull Pass, include, Mount Aeolus, Cartwright Valley, Fritsen Valley, Harris Ledge, Mount Hercules, Parish Ledge, Mount Jason, Goldich Crest and Gonzales Spur.Mount Aeolus
.Prominent peak, over high, between Mounts Boreas and Hercules.
Named by the VUWAE for the Greek god of the winds.
Cartwright Valley
A hanging valley that is for the most part free of ice, lying east of Mount Aeolus.Named by US-ACAN after Keros Cartwright, Illinois State Geological Survey, who made hydrogeological studies with Henry Harris in Victoria Valley, Wright Valley, and Taylor Valley during the Dry Valley Drilling Project; 1973-74, 1974-75, and 1975-76 seasons.
Fritsen Valley
An upland valley to the north of the Mount Hercules summit area and west of Harris Ledge.Named by US-ACAN after Christian H. Fritsen, microbiologist, Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV; USAP investigator of pack ice and lake ice from about 1992.
Harris Ledge
A flat, ice-free ridge to the north of Mount Hercules.Named by US-ACAN after Henry Harris, Illinois State Geological Survey, who made hydrogeological studies with Keros Cartwright in Victoria Valley, Wright Valley, and Taylor Valley during the Dry Valley Drilling Project; 1973-74, 1974-75, and 1975-76 seasons.
Mount Hercules
.Large, flat-topped, elevated feature between Mounts Aeolus and Jason.
Named by the VUWAE for a figure in Greek mythology.
Parish Ledge
A flat-topped ridge high on the east side of Bratina Valley.Named by US-ACAN after Thomas R. Parish, Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, long-term USAP investigator of Antarctic katabatic winds, 1981-97.
Mount Jason
.Peak just west of Bull Pass.
Named by the VUWAE for a figure in Greek mythology.
Goldich Crest
A peak, high, between Mount Jason and Bull Pass.Gonzalez Spur extends east-southeast from the peak.
Named by US-ACAN after S.S. Goldich, Department of Geology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL ; a participant in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Drilling Project, 1973-76.
Gonzalez Spur
A prominent rock spur long that extends east-southeast from Goldich Crest.The spur descends to high at the east extremity where it overhangs Wright Valley and forms the west side of the south entrance to higher Bull Pass.
Named by US-ACAN after Angel Gonzalez, Manager, United States Antarctic Resource Center, United States Geological Survey, 1996-2004.
Eastern features
Eastern features, to the east of Bull Pass, include,Mount Booth, Mount Cerebus, Orestes Valley, Mount Orestes, Wrenn Peak, Jones Terrace, Mount Peleus, Eurus Ridge, Baumann Valley, Nottage Ridge, Sanford Valley, McClelland Ridge, Poseidon Pond, Thomas Valley, Artemis Ridge, Mount Theseus, Mount Helios, Helios Ridge, Mount Allen and Mount Doorly.