 | Mounts Frakes (left) and Steere (right) from the northeast (U.S. Navy photo) <click to enlarge> |
Mount Frakes
11998 ft (3654 m) . |
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| Location: | Crary Mountains of eastern Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica | ||
| Lat / Long: | 76.8° S, 117.7° W | ||
| Volcanic Type: | Shield volcano with caldera | ||
| Volcanic Status: | Dormant / extinct | ||
| First Ascent: | |||
| First Ski Descent: | |||
| Skiable Vertical: | over 6500 ft (2000 m) | ||
| Mount Frakes is the third highest volcano in Antarctica and the highest point in the Crary Mountains. The relatively smooth and uneroded cone is about 4 million years old and has been constructed on the southeast flank of the older Mount Steere. Atop the summit is a nearly-circular 1.5 mile (2.5 km) wide caldera, which is so flat that the high points on the eastern and western rims differ in height by only a few feet. Satellite cinder cones on the lower flanks of the volcano have been dated to less than 2 million years, so future volcanic activity is certainly possible given the long intermissions between eruptions which are typical of the Marie Byrd Land volcanoes. | |||
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Some useful links: United States Antarctic Resource Center USGS Atlas of Antarctic Research (online maps & photos) |
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| Topographic map of Mounts Frakes and Steere (1:250,000 scale) from USGS Crary Mountains <click to enlarge> |
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More photos and info about routes, access, etc. may be added in the future ... |
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