MOUNT VINSON (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: Recently, Kerala government employee Shaikh Hassan Khan has climbed Mount Vinson.

Mount Vinson

• About: It holds the title of the highest mountain in Antarctica.
• Altitude: Rising to an elevation of 4,892 meters (16,050 feet) above sea level.

oIt is part of the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains, near the Ronne Ice Shelf.

• A Cluster of Peaks: Five other towering peaks, constituting Vinson Massif, share the same region as Mount Vinson, collectively representing the next five highest summits in Antarctica.
• Distance from the South Pole: 1,200 Kilometers

Ellsworth Mountains

• About: The Ellsworth Mountains encompass the Antarctic mountain ranges.
• Geographical Dimensions: Spanning a considerable 360 kilometers (224 miles) in length and 48 kilometers (30 miles) in width, forming a north to south mountainous configuration.