Tectonics of the Transantarctic Mountains

The Transantarctic Mountain (TAM) Range divides the Antarctic continent geologically into East and West. Formed by the deformation of Antarctica's Precambrian shield and more recent rifting the TAM are geologically quite complex. Lithologically the TAM consist largely of relatively flat (shallow dipping) sedimentary rocks with volcanic (igneous) deposits more abundant at the western margin. Several formations have been found to contain fossil remains that are also important in understanding the TAM's formation. The range is the largest in Antarctica (and one of the largest globally) stretching 3500 km across the continent from Victoria Land to Coats Land and reaching elevations of >4500m. The range also includes the volcanic Ross Island overlooking the eastern shore of the Ross Sea.

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About the authors

This site was produced by two Geology students at UCL (University College London) as part of the (C7) Global Tectonics course ( Graeme Lloyd and Martin Gibson).

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