NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY (since 1999)
Mount Sidley (4,285m - 14,058ft)
Antarctica
1. In Mount Sidley seen from space, photo by Landsat 8, NASA Earth Observatory
2. In Mont Sidley caldera - aerial view, vintage photo
The mountain
Mount Sidley (4,181–4,285 m - 13,717–14,058 ft) is the highest dormant volcano in Antarctica, a member of the Volcanic Seven Summits, standing about 2,200 meters (7,200 feet) above ice level. It is a massive, mainly snow-covered shield volcano which is the highest and most imposing of the five volcanic mountains that comprise the Executive Committee Range of Marie Byrd Land. The feature is marked by a spectacular 5 km (3 miles) wide caldera on the southern side and stands NE of Mount Waesche in the southern part of the range. The mountain was discovered by Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd on an airplane flight, November 18, 1934, and named by him for Mabelle E. Sidley, the daughter of William Horlick who was a contributor to the 1933–35 Byrd Antarctic Expedition. Despite its lofty status, the volcano languishes in obscurity due to its extremely remote location. It is little known even in the mountaineering world compared to the far more famous Mount Erebus, the second highest Antarctic volcano which is located near the U.S. and New Zealand bases on Ross Island. The first recorded ascent of Mount Sidley was by New Zealander Bill Atkinson on January 11, 1990, whilst working in support of a USAP scientific field party.
Imager
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Caption by Kathryn Hansen. This image of Mount Sidley was acquired on November 20, 2014, by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8. The image is the public domain. The caldera wall, which is mostly shadowed in this image, is about 1,200 meters (3,900 feet) high. Sidley is one of five volcanoes in the Executive Committee Range, which stretches about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from north to south.
Source
- NASA Earth Observatory
