Mount Siple
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| Mount Siple | |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 3,110 metres (10,203 ft) |
| Location | Antarctica |
| Coordinates | |
| Type | Shield volcano |
| Age of rock | Unknown |
Mount Siple is a dormant shield volcano, rising to 3,110 m and dominating the northwest part of Siple Island, which is separated from the Bakutis Coast, Marie Byrd Land, by the Getz Ice Shelf. Its youthful appearance strongly suggests that it last erupted sometimes during the Holocene. It is capped by a 4x5 km summit caldera and tuff cones lie on the lower flanks.
Mount Siple is named after Paul Allen Siple (1908-68), American Antarctic explorer and geographer who took part in six Antarctic expeditions, including the two Byrd expeditions of 1928-30 and 1933-35 (Siple Coast, Siple Island). He was in command of the West Base of the US Antarctic Service (USAS), 1939-41, and was navigator on all major exploratory flights from the base, including the flight on which Mount Siple was discovered. He served as U.S. Army Senior Representative on Operation Highjump, 1946-47; as Director of Scientific Projects in the planning stages for the US-IGY; and as the inaugural scientific leader at the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station 1956-57.
According to http://www.peaklist.org, the mountain has probably been climbed, but there is no known record of the achievement [1]. If it is in fact unclimbed it is the most prominent unclimbed mountain in the world (see highest unclimbed mountain).
[edit] Sources
- Siebert L, Simkin T (2002-). Volcanoes of the World: an Illustrated Catalog of Holocene Volcanoes and their Eruptions. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-3, (http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/).
- This article is based on a United States Geological Survey gazetteer.
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