Davies Escarpment facts for kids
Davies Escarpment is a very long, icy cliff located in Antarctica. It's a huge, steep slope made mostly of ice, facing towards the east. Imagine a giant, frozen wall that stretches for many kilometers!
Discovering Davies Escarpment
Where is this Icy Cliff?
Davies Escarpment is found in the southern part of the Thiel Mountains in Antarctica. Specifically, it's located in an area called Ellsworth Land. This amazing ice cliff stretches for over 10 nautical miles (19 km), which is more than 18 kilometers long! It's so big that you won't see any rocks sticking out of it; it's just pure ice. It sits south of another similar feature called Bermel Escarpment.
How Did Davies Escarpment Get Its Name?
This impressive ice formation was named after a geologist named William E. Davies. He was part of an important trip to Antarctica in 1954–55 on a ship called the USS Atka. This trip was to explore and find good places to set up research stations for a big science event called the International Geophysical Year.
The name "Davies Escarpment" was suggested by Peter F. Bermel and Arthur B. Ford. They were leaders of a team from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) who explored the Thiel Mountains in 1960–61. They wanted to honor William E. Davies for his work in exploring Antarctica.
