Donnellan Glacier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Donnellan Glacier |
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Location of Sentinel Range in Western Antarctica
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 Location in Antarctica
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| Type | tributary |
| Location | Ellsworth Land |
| Coordinates | 78°36′00″S 85°48′00″W / 78.60000°S 85.80000°W |
| Thickness | unknown |
| Terminus | Nimitz Glacier |
| Status | unknown |
Donnellan Glacier is a large, icy river that slowly moves through the mountains of Antarctica. It is found in a very cold and remote area called the Sentinel Range, which is part of the Ellsworth Mountains. This glacier gets its ice from high up on Vinson Plateau, near peaks like Opalchenie Peak and Fukushima Peak. The Vinson Plateau is the top part of Vinson Massif, which is the tallest mountain in Antarctica!
What is Donnellan Glacier?
Donnellan Glacier is a type of valley glacier. This means it's like a long, slow-moving river of ice that flows down a valley. It gets its ice from high areas next to Opalchenie Peak and Fukushima Peak. These peaks are on the Vinson Plateau, which is the top part of the Vinson Massif.
The glacier flows west-southwest, which means it moves towards the west and a bit to the south. It flows along the northwest side of Mount Slaughter and eventually joins another glacier called Nimitz Glacier.
How Donnellan Glacier Got its Name
The glacier was named in 2006 by a group called the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names. They named it after a scientist named Andrea Donnellan.
Andrea Donnellan works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology. She is a very important researcher who uses GPS technology. GPS helps her study how the Earth's crust moves and changes. She has done research in places like Southern California and also in Antarctica. Her work helps us understand more about our planet.
