Transantarctic mountains: location, features of formation, interesting facts

The Transantarctic mountains are a unique natural formation that "cuts" the mainland of Antarctica into several unequal parts. The terrain here is characterized by an abundance of valleys and rocky peaks. Trans-Antarctic mountains are an extremely rich place for fossil exhibits. Therefore, among researchers in the field of paleontology, this ridge is known only as a "museum of dinosaurs".

A short excursion into the history

For the first time the Transantarctic Range was marked on the map by the British explorer James Ross in 1841. However, the pioneer failed to reach the foot of the local peaks. Only in 1908 the expeditions of Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen crossed the range during a long journey aimed at reaching the South Pole.

A thorough study of the Transantarctic Mountains occurred in 1947. For this purpose, a special expedition was organized, which was called the "High Jump". The terrain was studied from aircraft. As a result, researchers were able to draw up sufficiently detailed geographical maps of the region.

Where are the Transantarctic mountains?

The system of ridges, formed from rocky rocks, stretches for several thousand kilometers from the Weddell Sea to the Earth of the Cotes. It is one of the longest mountain ranges in the world.

On which continent are the Transantarctic mountains? Geographers consider the range as a conditional border, which separates the eastern and western Antarctica. At a distance of about 480 km from this chain of rocks is the South Pole.

Geology

In the geological sense, the Transantarctic mountains are identified as a major outcrop of the earth's crust, which was formed as a result of active seismic activity about 65 million years ago. Other ranges, which are located within the boundaries of the continent of Antarctica, have a much later origin.

What is the highest point here? The Transantarctic mountains reach an altitude of 4528 m above sea level at a point called Kerk Patrick. The maximum amount of fossil organisms on the whole ridge is concentrated in the rock deposits of this formation. Tens of millions of years here, the optimum climatic conditions for life and development of living organisms were maintained, which explains the high concentration of their remains in the rock.

Interesting Facts

There are a number of fascinating moments concerning the history of the exploration of the Transantarctic Range:

1. In the middle of the last century, from the local glacier, the largest iceberg that ever was recorded by the researchers broke away. Its area was 31,080 km, which exceeds the territory of some European countries.
2. Trans-Antarctic mountains, in particular, their area called McMurdo, are the most arid place on the planet, where no precipitation has been observed for more than 2 million years.
3. In the so-called valley of Taylor, which is part of the represented mountain range, there is a waterfall, from which streamlets of a blood-red shade stream. The researchers attribute this phenomenon to the saturation of water with the products of the activity of anaerobic bacteria.
4. In the formation that is part of the highest peak of the Kerk-Patrick Range, in the middle of the last century the remains of a winged dinosaur were found. The dimensions of this fossil were equal to the size of a large crow. Near this place were extracted fossils of cryolophosaurus - a small carnivorous dinosaur.
5. In one of the extreme points of the mountain ridge - Cape Adare are huts, built by the legendary Norwegian pioneer Karsten Borchgrevink. It was he who in 1895, before other researchers, set foot on the mainland Antarctica. The buildings are fairly well preserved to our time, in view of the extremely low temperatures that are observed in the region.

Finally

The Transantarctic Range remains to this day one of the least studied places in the world. The fault is due to the extreme distance of the natural object from the great civilization, as well as the difficult climatic conditions. At the same time, the mountain range is a fantastically beautiful place that resembles landscapes from other planets.