Mount Hampton

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Shield volcano in Antarctica

title: "Mount Hampton" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["polygenetic-shield-volcanoes", "volcanoes-of-marie-byrd-land", "miocene-shield-volcanoes", "executive-committee-range"] description: "Shield volcano in Antarctica" topic_path: "general/polygenetic-shield-volcanoes" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hampton" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Shield volcano in Antarctica ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

FieldValue
nameMount Hampton
photoMountHampton.jpg
photo_captionThe caldera of Mt. Hampton viewed from the northwest.
elevation_m3323
locationMarie Byrd Land, Antarctica
rangeExecutive Committee Range
mapAntarctica
coordinates
coordinates_ref
typeShield volcano
volcanic_fieldMarie Byrd Land Volcanic Province
::

| name = Mount Hampton | photo = MountHampton.jpg | photo_caption = The caldera of Mt. Hampton viewed from the northwest. | elevation_m = 3323 | elevation_ref = | prominence_m = | location = Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica | range = Executive Committee Range | map = Antarctica | coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | topo = | type = Shield volcano | volcanic_field = Marie Byrd Land Volcanic Province | age = | last_eruption = | first_ascent = | easiest_route =

Mount Hampton is a shield volcano with a circular ice-filled caldera. It is a twin volcano with Whitney Peak to the northwest and has erupted phonolite rocks. It is the northernmost of the volcanoes which comprise the Executive Committee Range in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica and was active during the Miocene.

Geography and geology

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/HamptonMap.jpg" caption="Topographic map of Mount Hampton (1:250,000 scale) from USGS Mount Hampton"] ::

Mount Hampton is the northernmost volcano of the Executive Committee Range in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. It has the form of a symmetrical uneroded shield volcano with an "impressive" appearance and an ice-filled 6.5 x wide caldera. Like other volcanoes in the Executive Committee Range, it is a paired volcano with the northwesterly 3003 m high Whitney Peak and the southeasterly 3323 m high Marks Peak, which is the main summit of Mount Hampton. The northwesterly summit is associated with its own caldera, which is partly cut by the Mount Hampton caldera on the southeastern flank and buried by the lava flows from the latter. The centres of the two calderas are about 8 km apart. Based on outcrops, it appears that most of the volcano is formed by flow rocks but cinder and lava bombs occur at parasitic vents.

The mountain rises about 1 km above the surface of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet which buries most of the edifice, and moraine ridges are found at its base on the ice sheet. Owing to climate conditions, the persistence of permanent ice atop of the mountain is unlikely over the long term; erosion there appears to have been episodic with maxima during interglacials and there is no evidence of cirque formation. Lichens have been found on the mountain.

Composition

The volcano is formed by phonolite rocks, but parasitic vents have also erupted basanite and Whitney Peak also erupted trachyte and benmoreite. Hawaiite has been reported as well. The volcanic rocks contain augite and feldspar; further, spinel-containing lherzolite xenoliths have been found. In general, composition is unique for each volcano in the Executive Committee Range.

Eruption history

Mount Hampton is one of the oldest volcanoes of Antarctica and was active during the Miocene. Despite this, it is less eroded than some younger volcanoes in the region; in general, the ages of the Marie Byrd Land volcanoes are not correlated to their erosion status. It appears that Whitney Peak is the older half of the edifice and that volcanic activity then migrated to Mount Hampton. More generally, volcanism in the Executive Committee Range migrated southwards over time at an average rate of 0.7 cm/year, although Mount Hampton and its southern neighbour Mount Cumming were simultaneously active 10 million years ago.

Last parasitic eruptions took place around 11.4 million years ago and the youngest radiometric dates are 8.3 million years. As at other volcanoes of Marie Byrd Land, the parasitic activity at Mount Hampton occurred after a long period of dormancy. However, the presence around the caldera rim of snow-covered inactive 10 - high ice towers indicate that the mountain is geothermally active and may have erupted during the Holocene. Later research suggested that the ice towers were actually formed by wind-driven erosion of snow and ice. There is no evidence of geothermal processes and seismic activity recorded at the volcano may be due to volcano-tectonic processes or due to ice movement.

Notes

Sources

References

  1. GNIS
  2. LeMasurier and Thompson, 1990, p.193
  3. Wilch, McIntosh and Panter 2021, p.520
  4. Carracedo ''et al.'' 2019, p.439
  5. GNIS
  6. Wilch, McIntosh and Panter 2021, p.546
  7. LeMasurier and Rex, 1989, p.7225
  8. LeMasurier and Thompson, 1990, p.194
  9. GNIS
  10. LeMasurier and Thompson, 1990, p.189
  11. Rocchi, LeMasurier and Vincenzo 2006, p.1001
  12. Rocchi, LeMasurier and Vincenzo 2006, p.997
  13. LeMasurier and Thompson, 1990, p.190
  14. Carracedo ''et al.'' 2019, p.439
  15. LeMasurier and Thompson, 1990, p.190
  16. Carracedo ''et al.'' 2019, p.442
  17. Carracedo ''et al.'' 2019, p.444
  18. Carracedo ''et al.'' 2016
  19. Lemasurier and Rocchi 2005, p.57
  20. Scharon and Early, p.91
  21. Carracedo ''et al.'' 2019, p.439
  22. LeMasurier and Rex, 1989, p.7228
  23. Panter ''et al.'' 2021, p.580
  24. Carracedo ''et al.'' 2019, p.439
  25. LeMasurier and Rex, 1989, p.7229
  26. Carracedo ''et al.'' 2019, p.439
  27. Rocchi, LeMasurier and Vincenzo 2006, p.997
  28. LeMasurier and Thompson, 1990, p.158
  29. LeMasurier and Thompson, 1990, p.189
  30. LeMasurier and Rex, 1989, p.7227
  31. Carracedo ''et al.'' 2019, p.439
  32. Carracedo ''et al.'' 2019, p.442
  33. LeMasurier and Thompson, 1990, p.197
  34. LeMasurier p.91
  35. LeMasurier and Thompson, 1990, p.193
  36. LeMasurier and Wade, 1968
  37. LeMasurier and Wade, 1968
  38. LeMasurier and Thompson, 1990, p.193
  39. Wilch, McIntosh and Panter 2021, p.547
  40. Lough ''et al.'' 2012

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

polygenetic-shield-volcanoesvolcanoes-of-marie-byrd-landmiocene-shield-volcanoesexecutive-committee-range