Mount Terror (Antarctica)
Mount Terror is a large shield volcano that forms the eastern part of Ross Island, Antarctica. It has numerous cinder cones and domes on the flanks of the shield and is mostly under snow and ice. It is the second largest of the four volcanoes which make up Ross Island and is somewhat overshadowed by its neighbor, Mount Erebus, 30 km (19 mi) to the west.[1] Mt. Terror was named in 1841 by Sir James Clark Ross for his second ship, HMS Terror.[1] The captain of Terror was Captain Francis Crozier who was a close friend of Ross and for whom the nearby Cape Crozier is named.
| Mount Terror | |
|---|---|
 Mount Terror (right) and Mount Erebus (left) seen from the Hut Point Peninsula on Ross Island | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,230 m (10,600 ft) [1] |
| Prominence | 1,728 m (5,669 ft) [2] |
| Listing | Ultra |
| Coordinates | 77°31′S 168°32′E [2] |
| Geography | |
  Mount Terror | |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | 820,000-1.75 million years |
| Mountain type | Shield volcano (extinct) |
| Volcanic belt | McMurdo Volcanic Group |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1959 |
| Easiest route | snow/ice climb |
Geography
Mount Terror is on the right, Mount Terra Nova is in the middle, and Mount Erebus is on the left. Mount Bird is in the upper left.
The rocks at the summit have not been studied, but rocks from the lower areas range from 0.82 to 1.75 million years old, and Mount Terror shows no signs of more recent volcanic activity.
The first ascent of Mt. Terror was made by a New Zealand party in 1959.
Terror Point (77°41′S 168°13′E), located just below Mt. Terror, is the eastern limit of Fog Bay, 6 km (3.7 mi) WNW of Cape MacKay on Ross Island. The name was first used by members of the British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04, and was apparently applied in association with Mt. Terror which overlooks this point from the northeast.[3]
Terror Saddle (77°31′S 168°5′E) is one of three prominent snow saddles on Ross Island, located c.1600 m between Mount Terra Nova and Mount Terror. Named in association with Mount Terror, which rises to 3262 m to the east of this saddle.[4]
Terror Glacier (77°37′S 168°3′E) is a large glacier between Mount Terra Nova and Mount Terror on Ross Island, flowing south into Windless Bight. So named by A.J. Heine of the New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition (NZGSAE), 1962–63, because of its association with Mount Terror.[5]
Cultural references
- Mount Terror is the stronghold of Russian anarchist revolutionaries in the 1894 science fiction novel Olga Romanoff by George Griffith.
- Mount Terror and Mount Erebus are mentioned in the 1936 novella At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft.
- Mount Terror is used as a location in the 2004 novel State of Fear by Michael Crichton.
- Mount Terror is referenced in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea by the narrator Professor Arronax, after they arrive at the South Pole, in reference to two volcanic craters, the Erebus and Terror, in context to an earlier discovery by ‘’James Clark Ross’’.
References
- "Mount Terror". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
- "Antarctica Ultra-Prominences" Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
- "Terror Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
- "Terror Saddle". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
- "Terror Glacier". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
Bibliography
- LeMasurier, W. E. (1990). Thomson, J. W. (ed.). Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Oceans. American Geophysical Union. pp. 512 pp. ISBN 0-87590-172-7.