Taylor Valley
Geographic feature in Antarctica
title: "Taylor Valley" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mcmurdo-dry-valleys", "valleys-of-victoria-land", "transantarctic-mountains"] description: "Geographic feature in Antarctica" topic_path: "general/mcmurdo-dry-valleys" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Valley" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Geographic feature in Antarctica ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox valley"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| photo | Image:Taylorvalley ast 2000334.jpg |
| photo_caption | Satellite image of the valley, with inset of Lake Bonney |
| map | Antarctica |
| map_size | 180 |
| location | Antarctica |
| coordinates | |
| elevation | |
| :: |
| name = | embed = | other_name = | photo = Image:Taylorvalley ast 2000334.jpg | photo_size = | photo_width = | photo_caption = Satellite image of the valley, with inset of Lake Bonney | photo_alt = | map = Antarctica | map_size = 180 | map_alt = | map_caption = | location = Antarctica | coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | elevation = | elevation_m = | elevation_ft = | elevation_ref = | direction = | length = | width = | area = | depth = | type = | age = | boundaries = | topo = | towns = | traversed = | watercourses = | footnotes = Taylor Valley is an ice-free valley about 18 nmi long, once occupied by the receding Taylor Glacier. It lies north of the Kukri Hills between the Taylor Glacier and New Harbour in Victoria Land, Antarctica. Taylor Valley is the southernmost of the three large McMurdo Dry Valleys in the Transantarctic Mountains, located west of McMurdo Sound.
Exploration and naming
The Taylor Valley was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (BrNAE, 1901–04). It was more fully explored by the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907–09 (BrAE) and the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910–13. It was named after the Taylor Glacier.
Geology
In the oblique aerial photo at right, the tan bands are sandstone layers from the Beacon Supergroup, a series of sedimentary rock layers formed at the bottom of a shallow sea between 250 million and 400 million years ago. Throughout that period, Earth's southern continents were locked into the supercontinent Gondwana.
The dark band of rock that divides the sandstone is dolerite (sometimes called diabase), a volcanic rock that forms underground. The distinctive dolerite intrusion—or sill—is a remnant of a massive volcanic plumbing system that produced major eruptions about 180 million years ago. The eruptions likely helped tear Gondwana apart.
Location
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Mcmurdo_sound_USGS_map.jpg" caption="Map showing location of Taylor Valley"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/C77190s1_Ant.Map_Ross_Island.jpg" caption="Taylor Valley in center of west of map, opposite Ross Island"] ::
Taylor Valley is one of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Parts of the area were visited by British expeditions led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott (1901–04 and 1910–13), who referred to Taylor Valley, as well as Beacon Valley and Pyramid Trough (named later), as "dry valleys." It runs from the east end of Taylor Glacier to New Harbour in McMurdo Sound. It separates the Kukri Hills to the south from the Asgard Range to the north.
Features
Features of the valley include, from west to east, Bonney Riegel below Mount J. J. Thomson, Lake Bonney, Nussbaum Reigel, Mummy Pond, Lake Chad, Andrews Ridge, and Lake Frysell, which is fed by the Delta Stream from the south.
Bonney Riegel
Mount J. J. Thomson
Lake Bonney
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Lake_Bonney_2015_02.jpg" caption="Lake Bonney 2015"] ::
Main article: Lake Bonney (Antarctica)
Ventifact Knobs
Nussbaum Riegel
The Defile
Andrews Ridge
Parera Pond
Mummy Pond
Lake Chad
Spaulding Pond
Lake Hoare
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Lake_Hoare_2014_01.jpg" caption="Lake Hoare 2014"] ::
Main article: Lake Hoare
Lake Fryxell
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Fryxellsee_Opt.jpg" caption="Lake Fryxell 2002"] ::
Main article: Lake Fryxell
Many Glaciers Pond
Coral Ridge
Northern glaciers and streams
Glaciers and streams descending towards the valley floor from the Asgard Range include Matterhorn Glacier, Lacroix Glacier, Suess Glacier, Canada Glacier, and Commonwealth Glacier.
Matterhorn Glacier
Lacroix Glacier
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Lacroix_Glacier_1958_01.jpg" caption="Lacroix Glacier in 1958"] ::
Suess Glacier
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Suess_Glacier_1958–1959.png" caption="Suess Glacier in 1958–59"] ::
Canada Glacier
Main article: Canada Glacier
Green Creek
Canada Stream
Andrews Creek
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/HueyCreekAntarctica2001.jpg" caption="streamflow-gaging]] station at Huey Creek"] ::
Huey Creek
Commonwealth Glacier
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Antarctica_Hiking_the_Commonwealth_Glacier.jpg" caption="Commonwealth Glacier in 2009"] ::
McKnight Creek
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/CottonGlacier-Diane_McKnight.jpg" caption="Diane McKnight, [[Cotton Glacier]], McMurdo Dry Valleys"] ::
Lost Seal Stream
Commonwealth Stream
Southern glaciers and streams
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Taylorglacier_pho_2013_studinger.jpg" caption="Taylor Valley, [[Taylor Glacier]] and [[Blood Falls]], 2013"] ::
Glaciers descending towards the valley floor from the Kukri Hills include, from west to east, Glaciers in the Kukri Hills that flow towards the Taylor Valley floor include, from west to east, Calkin Glacier, Hughes Glacier, Sollas Glacier, Marr Glacier, Moa Glacier, Goldman Glacier, Howard Glacier, Crescent Glacier, Von Guerard Glacier. Aiken Glacier and Wales Glacier. Meltwater streams include:
Furlong Creek
Delta Stream
Crescent Stream
Harnish Creek
Von Guerard Stream
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Von_Guerard_Stream_gauge_2013_01.jpg" caption="Von Guerard Stream gauge (2013)"] ::
Maria Creek
Bowles Creek
Aiken Creek
References
Sources
- {{citation|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/fedgov/70039167/report.pdf |accessdate=2024-01-30 |edition=2 |editor-last=Alberts |title=Geographic Names of the Antarctic |editor-first=Fred G. |publisher=United States Board on Geographic Names |year=1995}}
- {{cite gnis2 |type=antardi |id=17661 |name=Parera Pond}}
- {{cite gnis2 |type=antarid |id=17413 |name=Quinn Gully}}
- {{citation |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:C77190s1_Ant.Map_Ross_Island.jpg |accessdate=2024-02-13 |title=Ross Island |publisher=USGS: United States Geological Survey |ref= }}
References
- [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=82524&src=eoa-iotd Taylor Valley, Antarctica] at [[NASA Earth Observatory]]. Article includes [[public domain]] text from this US government website.
::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. ::