Moltke Nunataks

- 77.966666666667 - 35.5Koordinaten: 77 ° 58 '0 "S, 35 ° 30 ' 0 " W

The Moltkenunatakker ( old spelling Moltke nunataks ) are more ice-free rocky ridge on the coast of Prince Regent Luitpold -Land in Antarctica.

Discovery and geographical location

The nunataks were discovered in January 1912 by the second German Antarctic Expedition under Wilhelm Filchner, and named after the brothers Helmuth von Moltke and Frederick. There were in addition to the Bertrabnunatakkern and the Littlewood - nunataks the only ice-free regions, which were spotted by this expedition.

The nunataks located in the upper part of a steeply sloping to the Weddell Sea slope, which is dominated by a glacier break. Due to the advancement and regular breaking off the glacier front, varies not only the ice-free area of ​​the nunataks, but also their number. In the 1960s, four nunataks were counted, today there are three. The largest Nunatak is a more than 120 -meter cliff, the two smaller ones are up to 50 m long.

Geology

The avalanche prone position beneath the glacier break date, prevented a more detailed geological investigation. On aerial photographs folded rocks can be seen, and an Indian expedition gathered some broken- slate and marble pieces from the sea ice below the cliffs. Since only 20 km away, and slightly higher Bertrab and Littlewood - Nunatakker from 1060 consist mya old, unfolded rhyolites, it is assumed that the Moltkenunatakker components of the underlying older basement of the Antarctic continent.