Neptune Range Explained

Parent:	Pensacola Mountains
Map:	Antarctica
Label Position:	none

The Neptune Range is a mountain range, long, lying west-southwest of Forrestal Range in the central part of the Pensacola Mountains, Antarctica. The range comprises Washington Escarpment with its associated ridges, valleys and peaks, the Iroquois Plateau, the Schmidt and the Williams Hills.

Exploration and name

The Neptune Range was discovered and photographed on 13 January 1956 on a United States Navy transcontinental plane flight from McMurdo Sound to Weddell Sea and return.It was named by United States US-ACAN after the Navy P2V-2N "Neptune" aircraft with which this flight was made. The entire Pensacola Mountains were mapped by United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 1967 and 1968 from ground surveys and United States Navy tricamera aerial photographs taken in 1964.

Location

The Neptune Range runs from south to north to the east if the Foundation Ice Stream.Childs Glacier flows west from the range to join the ice stream,The Academy Glacier flows northwest between the Patuxent Range and the southern tip of the Neptune Range to join the ice stream.The Cordiner Peaks are to the north.The Iroquois Plateau and the Median Snowfield are to the east.

Glaciers

• Foundation Ice Stream (-83.25°N -60°W), a major ice stream in the Pensacola Mountains of Antarctica. The ice stream drains northward for along the west side of the Patuxent Range and the Neptune Range to enter the Ronne Ice Shelf westward of Dufek Massif.
• Childs Glacier (-83.4°N -98°W), a glacier in the Neptune Range, draining westward from Roderick Valley to enter Foundation Ice Stream.
• Academy Glacier (-84.25°N -61°W), a major glacier in the Pensacola Mountains, draining northwestward between the Patuxent and Neptune Ranges to enter Foundation Ice Stream.

Peaks

Peaks over high include:

Mountain	m	ft	coord

Washington Escarpment

-83.7°N -63°W. The major west-facing escarpment of the Neptune Range, extending some and being the point of origin of a number of west-trending rock ridges. Mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and United States Navy air photographs in 1956-66. Named by the United States Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) for the University of Washington at Seattle. Several members of the Neptune Range field party of 1963-64 attended this university.

Features, from north to south, include

• Mount Moffat (-83.5333°N 72°W) is a mountain, high, standing northeast of Mount Ege.
• Nelson Peak (-83.6667°N -58°W), a peak in Antarctica, standing at the eastern end of Drury Ridge and Brown Ridge where the two ridges abut Washington Escarpment.
• Mount Dover (-83.7667°N -105°W), a mountain high surmounting the southeast end of Gale Ridge where the ridge abuts the Washington Escarpment.
• Mount Hawkes (-83.9167°N -61°W), at, the highest mountain along the Washington Escarpment, standing at the east side of Jones Valley.
• Gambacorta Peak (-84.0333°N -59°W), a peak high, standing east of Mount Kaschak in the southern Neptune Range.

Other features

• Schmidt Hills (-83.2333°N -105°W), a group of rock hills, long, lying north of Childs Glacier and west of Roderick Valley.
• Williams Hills (-83.7°N -113°W), a compact group of hills, long, located south of Childs Glacier and west of Roderick Valley.
• Torbert Escarpment (-83.4833°N -62°W), an escarpment, long, marking the west margin of Median Snowfield.
• Iroquois Plateau (-83.85°N -54°W), a large, mainly ice-covered plateau situated east of the southern part of the Washington Escarpment in the Pensacola Mountains, Antarctica.