Approx 4.5km NE of Bastion Hill; the floor of a small narrow depression in an undulating moraine surface; the site is a salty hollow about 10m across distinguished by a surface precipitation of white salts; the soil sample was collected from about a 1/3 of the way across the salty hollow
Altitude:
800 m
Aspect:
Nil
Slope:
0 °
Location Data
Observer
IBC
GPS
No
Latitude Longitude DMS
79° 48' S 158° 28' E
Latitude Longitude DD
-79.800 158.467
Latitude longitude precision DD
0.008 0.008
Locality
Victoria Land, Trans-antarctic Mountains; at the southern end of the Cook Mountains in the Brown Hills region of the Darwin Glacier
Survey
USGS 1:250,000 1963; Carlyon Glacier ST 57-60/13*
Climate
Soil climate zone:
Coastal mountain
Estimated mean annual temperature:
-24
°C
Frozen ground depth:
0 cm
Frozen type:
Frozen comment:
Geology
Geological setting:
Granites and granodiorite rocks from the Granite Harbour Intrusives are extensive and form the dominant component of the tills; Ferrar Dolerite which occurs in sills within the basement rocks occurs in lesser amounts; till deposited from retreating local glaciers is less extensive on lower slopes
Patterned ground:
Nil
Surface weathering or surface features:
101;The salty hollow has a greyer surface than surrounding areas; precipitated salts form a thin discontinuous deposit
Soil
Soil parent material:
Granitic till
Previous disturbance:
Nil
Soil weathering stage:
Soil moisture status:
Oceanic subxerous; the surface of the soil is dry but water is present a few cm below; water is probably derived from thawing of a nearby snow accumulation