McDonald Ice Rumples

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The McDonald Ice Rumples (75°28′S, 26°18′W) constitute an ice rise on the Brunt Ice Shelf bordering the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. It covers an area of 3 by 2 miles.

The feature is named for Briton Allan McDonald of the British Association of Magallanes at Punta Arenas who in July 1916, assisted Ernest Shackleton to raise the necessary funds to send a schooner, the Emma, to rescue 22 men shipwrecked on Elephant Island during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. In recognition of this, Shackleton named a glacier after McDonald; however, when others’ attempts to locate the glacier failed, this ice rise was named for McDonald instead. It is impossible to know with certainty whether this feature and Shackleton's are one and the same.

The Royal Society IGY expeditions occupied a base nearby (1955-59) and were familiar with this feature. In 1957 the maximum elevation above the general surface of the ice shelf was about 18 meters, a few hundred meters from the ice front.

An excellent aerial photograph of the ice rise can be seen here: [1] (accessed 12/5/2007; alternate copy: [2] ).

This article incorporates text from McDonald Ice Rumples, in the Geographic Names Information System, operated by the United States Geological Survey, and therefore a public domain work of the United States Government.