Mawson Peak is an active volcanic summit of the Big Ben massif on Heard Island, an external Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.
| Mawson Peak | |
|---|---|
 Satellite image of the southern tip of Heard Island. Cape Arkona is seen on the left side of the image, with Lied Glacier just above and Gotley Glacier just below. Big Ben Volcano and Mawson Peak are seen at the lower right side of the image. | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,745 m (9,006 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 2,745 m (9,006 ft) |
| Listing | Country high point |
| Coordinates | 53°6′00″S 73°31′00″E / 53.10000°S 73.51667°E |
| Geography | |
  Mawson Peak Location of Heard Island | |
| Location | Heard Island, Australia |
| Parent range | Big Ben |
| Topo map | RAN Heard Island 291 |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Volcanic cone |
| Last eruption | 2012 to 2018 [2] |
With an elevation of 2,745 metres (9,006 ft), it is the third highest peak in any state, territory or claimed territory of Australia,[3] higher than the 2,228-metre (7,310 ft) Mount Kosciuszko, and surpassed only by the 3,490-metre (11,450 ft) Mount McClintock and the 3,355-metre (11,007 ft) Mount Menzies in the Australian Antarctic Territory.[4] The Australian Antarctic Territory is a territorial claim unrecognised by most other countries,[5] meaning that Mawson Peak is the highest mountain over which Australia has true sovereignty. The peak erupts fairly frequently,[6] and as recently as May 2023.[7] Mawson Peak is ranked the 30th of Earth's most topographically isolated summits.
Discovery and naming
editMawson Peak was named by the 1948 Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions Heard Island Expedition after the Australian geologist and explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, the leader of the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition 1929–1931, who visited the island in November – December 1929.[8]
On 20 February 1950, whilst aboard HMAS Lebuan, Thomas Gratton Young OAM observed and recorded in the ship's log that Mawson Peak was an active volcano.
In 1964 an expedition to Heard Island was led by Major Warwick Deacock, with the schooner Patanela skippered by Major Bill Tilman. They succeeded in climbing Mawson Peak for the first time. An earlier attempt on the peak during the 1953–1954 research expedition was described[9] by its leader, John Béchervaise.
See also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^ "Mawson Peak, Heard Island". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 16 March 2009.
- ^ "Heard Island". 25 July 2018.
- ^ "Highest mountains on external territories". Australian Government – Geoscience Australia. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mawson Peak
- ^ "Antarctic Region". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ "Scientists witness 'amazing' eruption of volcano on sub-Antarctic island". ABC News. February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ Readfearn G. Australian volcano near Antarctica captured on satellite spewing lava. The Guardian, 30 May 2023
- ^ "Mawson Peak". Antarctic Gazetteer Name Details. Australian Antarctic Division. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ Béchervaise (1962)
Sources
edit- Béchervaise, J (1962). "A problem of weather" (PDF). Journal of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club. XIX (56): 225–243. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- LeMasurier, WE; Thomson, JW, eds. (1990). Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Oceans. American Geophysical Union. ISBN 0-87590-172-7.
- "Article". Aurora. 30 (3). March 2011.