Mawson Peak is an active volcanic summit of the Big Ben massif on Heard Island, an external Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.
Mawson Peak | |
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Highest point | |
Elevation | 2,745 m (9,006 ft)[1] |
Prominence | 2,745 m (9,006 ft) |
Isolation | 1,922 km (1,194 mi) |
Listing | Country high point |
Coordinates | 53°6′00″S 73°31′00″E / 53.10000°S 73.51667°E |
Geography | |
Mawson Peak Location of Heard Island | |
Location | Heard Island, Australia |
Parent range | Big Ben |
Topo map | RAN Heard Island 291 |
Geology | |
Mountain type | Volcanic cone |
Last eruption | 2012 to 2018 [2] |
With an elevation of 2,745 metres (9,006 ft), it is the third highest peak in any state or territory of Australia,[3] higher than the 2,228-metre (7,310 ft) Mount Kosciuszko, and surpassed only by the 3,490-metre (11,450 ft) Mount McClintock and the 3,355-metre (11,007 ft) Mount Menzies claimed in the Australian Antarctic Territory.[4] The peak erupts fairly frequently,[5] as recently as May 2023.[6] Mawson Peak is ranked 30th by topographic isolation.
Mawson Peak was named by the 1948 Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions Heard Island Expedition after the Australian geologist and explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, the leader of the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition 1929–1931, who visited the island in November – December 1929.[7]
On 20 February 1950, whilst aboard HMAS Lebuan, Thomas Gratton Young OAM observed and recorded in the ship's log that Mawson Peak was an active volcano.
In 1964 an expedition to Heard Island was led by Major Warwick Deacock, with the schooner Patanela skippered by Major Bill Tilman. They succeeded in climbing Mawson Peak for the first time. An earlier attempt on the peak during the 1953–1954 research expedition was described[8] by its leader, John Béchervaise.