Mount Melbourne

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Mount Melbourne

Mt. Melbourne seen from the ice-covered Ross Sea.
Elevation 2,732 metres (8,963 feet)
Location Victoria Land, Antarctica
Coordinates 74.4° S 164.7° E
Type Stratovolcano
Age of rock Unknown
Last eruption 1750 ± 100 years

Mount Melbourne is a massive volcanic cone of great beauty, surmounting the projection of the coast between Wood Bay and Terra Nova Bay, in Victoria Land of Antarctica.

Discovered in 1841 by James Clark Ross, who named it for Lord Melbourne, British Prime Minister when the expedition was being planned.

Topographic map of Mount Melbourne (1:250,000 scale) from USGS Mount Melbourne
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Topographic map of Mount Melbourne (1:250,000 scale) from USGS Mount Melbourne

Mt. Melbourne is an active volcano and is undissected by glaciation. Many young cones dot the flanks and the volcano may have erupted as recently as during the 18-19th Century. Fumarolic activity is found on the southern rim of the summit crater and along a NNE-SSW line cutting through the summit region.

[edit] Sources

  • Siebert, L. and T. Simkin (2002-). Volcanoes of the World: an Illustrated Catalog of Holocene Volcanoes and their Eruptions. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-3. URL: http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/
  • Amar Andalkar (2005-). Amar Andalkar's Ski Mountaineering and Climbing Site. Skiing the Pacific Ring of Fire and Beyond, (http://www.skimountaineer.com/ROF/RingOfFire.html/)
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