The Transantarctic Mountains form one of the longest mountain ranges on Earth, stretching roughly 3,500 kilometers from Cape Adare in northern Victoria Land to Coats Land and running 100 to 300 kilometers wide. The range physically divides East Antarctica from West Antarctica, the continent's two major geological provinces. It is built from a basement of granite and gneiss overlain by sedimentary layers, including the Beacon Supergroup of sandstone, siltstone and coal deposits. The mountains were raised by tectonic uplift associated with the opening of the West Antarctic Rift System, beginning in the early Cenozoic roughly 65 million years ago, after which glaciers moved in and have occupied the range ever since. Mount Kirkpatrick, the range's highest peak at about 4,528 meters, is one of several Transantarctic summits exceeding 4,500 meters, and its exposed rock faces are among the few places in Antarctica not buried under ice. This entity documents the Transantarctic Mountains specifically as a geological formation defined by rift-related tectonic uplift.
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