Transantarctic Mountains

More than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of the Transantarctic Mountains extend from Victoria Land to the Weddell Sea's coastlines. They are located in the Queen Maud Mountains and reach a height of 14,856 feet (4,528 meters) at Mount Kirkpatrick. The area they pass through is largely covered by an ice sheet and a network of massive glaciers. The Shackleton, Pensacola, Horlick, Queen Alexandra, Britannia, Prince Albert, Dufek, and Admiralty ranges are further significant sections of the system. There have been discovered extensive coal resources, which are among the greatest reserves in the world, as well as the petrified remains of extinct freshwater amphibians and reptiles. The United States, United Kingdom, and New Zealand have all run research stations along the mountain's base.

Captain James Clark Ross first observed the Transantarctic Mountains while sailing in the Ross Sea in 1841. The range acts as a natural barrier between the Ross Ice Shelf and the South Pole.

Location: across the continent from Cape Adare in northern Victoria Land to Coats Land

Length of range: more than 2,000 mi