Southern Cross Mountains, Antarctica
Photo by Carlo Baroni, University of Pisa (fair use policy)
The Southern Cross Mountains, in Victoria Land, Antarctica, have delicate spires of volcanic rock that have never been covered by glaciers since their eruption 8 million years ago. Researchers in the July 1999 Geology examined volcanic rocks like these that document the last 50 million years in Victoria Land. Evidence from landscape features like these peaks, they say, shows that the climate of Antarctica changed about 8 million years ago, from a relatively warm regime that created alpine glacial landforms to the cold conditions of today.
Glacier and Ice Picture Gallery
