The Ellsworth Mountains form a 350-kilometer-long, 48-kilometer-wide chain in West Antarctica on the western edge of the Ronne Ice Shelf, holding Mount Vinson, at 4,892 meters the highest peak on the continent, making this the highest mountain range in Antarctica. The range is built from a discrete crustal block called the Ellsworth-Whitmore Mountain terrane, containing a roughly 13,000-meter-thick sequence of folded Cambrian to Permian sedimentary strata resting on much older Grenville-age continental basement rock. Those layers accumulated during the early Paleozoic as part of the assembly of the supercontinent Gondwana, and the terrane is thought to have once been part of the Cape Fold Belt before rifting away from southern Africa and later becoming incorporated into Antarctica. Major folding and deformation of the sedimentary rock occurred during the Gondwanide orogeny, with later uplift raising the range to its present height. This entity documents the Ellsworth Mountains specifically as a geological formation, a range of folded Paleozoic strata raised by the Gondwanide orogeny after rifting from Gondwana.
Facts
Classification
Protected StatusInternational Treaty Protected Area 1 Connections
Associated With
Source Ellsworth Mountains (Wikipedia)
Source Ellsworth Mountains (Wikipedia)
Source Ellsworth Mountains (Wikipedia)
Permian, Eras Source Ellsworth Mountains (Wikipedia)
Source Ellsworth Mountains (Wikipedia)
Source Ellsworth Mountains (Wikipedia)
Source Ellsworth Mountains (Wikipedia)
Caused By
Source Ellsworth Mountains (Wikipedia)
Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Orogeny via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.
Source Ellsworth Mountains (Wikipedia)
In Discipline
Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to discipline Geomorphology via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.
Source Wikidata: Ellsworth Mountains
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty: Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty
Secretariat of the Antarctic TreatyArticle 2Quote, Article 2
It designates Antarctica as a “natural reserve, devoted to peace and science” (Art. 2).
Wikidata: Ellsworth Mountains
Wikidata Q1139110, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Ellsworth Mountains (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Cambrian, Article text, age Cambrian
This terrane was part of the early Paleozoic amalgamation of Gondwana and consists of a 13,000 meters (43,000 ft) thick section of folded Cambrian-Permian strata, which accumulated on Grenville-age continental crust.
Associated With: Permian, Article text, age Permian
This terrane was part of the early Paleozoic amalgamation of Gondwana and consists of a 13,000 meters (43,000 ft) thick section of folded Cambrian-Permian strata, which accumulated on Grenville-age continental crust.
Caused By: Folding, Article text, process Folding
This terrane was part of the early Paleozoic amalgamation of Gondwana and consists of a 13,000 meters (43,000 ft) thick section of folded Cambrian-Permian strata, which accumulated on Grenville-age continental crust.
Caused By: Orogeny, Article text, process Orogeny
Liptak Formation of quartzites, and the Mount Wyatt Earp Formation of quartzites. Major deformation of the sedimentary rocks occurred during the Gondwanide orogeny, followed by later uplift.
Associated With: Tuff, Article text, rock Tuff
the Heritage Group is the Union Glacier Formation of ashflow tuff-lahar deposits, the Hyde Glacier Formation of graywacke-argillite-conglomerate, the Drake Icefall Formation of black shales and marble, the Conglomerate Ridge
Associated With: Greywacke, Article text, rock Greywacke
the Heritage Group is the Union Glacier Formation of ashflow tuff-lahar deposits, the Hyde Glacier Formation of graywacke-argillite-conglomerate, the Drake Icefall Formation of black shales and marble, the Conglomerate Ridge Formation of conglomerate and quartzite, the Liberty
Associated With: Shale, Article text, rock Shale
Formation of ashflow tuff-lahar deposits, the Hyde Glacier Formation of graywacke-argillite-conglomerate, the Drake Icefall Formation of black shales and marble, the Conglomerate Ridge Formation of conglomerate and quartzite, the Liberty Hills-Springer Peak-Frazier Ridge Formations of quartzite-argillite, and the
Associated With: Marble, Article text, rock Marble
Formation of ashflow tuff-lahar deposits, the Hyde Glacier Formation of graywacke-argillite-conglomerate, the Drake Icefall Formation of black shales and marble, the Conglomerate Ridge Formation of conglomerate and quartzite, the Liberty Hills-Springer Peak-Frazier Ridge Formations of quartzite-argillite, and the
Associated With: Conglomerate, Article text, rock Conglomerate
Formation of graywacke-argillite-conglomerate, the Drake Icefall Formation of black shales and marble, the Conglomerate Ridge Formation of conglomerate and quartzite, the Liberty Hills-Springer Peak-Frazier Ridge Formations of quartzite-argillite, and the Minaret Formation of
Associated With: Quartzite, Article text, rock Quartzite
Formation of graywacke-argillite-conglomerate, the Drake Icefall Formation of black shales and marble, the Conglomerate Ridge Formation of conglomerate and quartzite, the Liberty Hills-Springer Peak-Frazier Ridge Formations of quartzite-argillite, and the Minaret Formation of
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