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Geographical Discoveries Made by Admiral Byrd
During his Historic South Pole Flight of 1929*

Amundsen Glacier – discovered by Byrd, but the name was proposed by Laurence Gould in honor of Roald Amundsen.

Mount Vincent Astor – discovered and named by Byrd for Vincent Astor, a contributor to Byrd’s Expedition.

Balchen Glacier – discovered and named by Byrd for Bernt Balchen, the chief pilot of the expedition.

Barnum Peak – discovered and named by Byrd for J.D. Barnum, the publisher of the Syracuse Post-Standard and a contributor to the expedition.

Mount Black – discovered and named by Byrd for Van Lear Black, an American financier and contributor to the 1928-30 and 1933-35 Byrd expeditions.

Mount Paul Block – discovered and named by Byrd for Paul Block, Jr., son of Paul Block, a patron of the expedition.

Mount William Block – discovered and named by Byrd for William Block, the son of Paul Block, a patron of the expedition

Breyer Mesa – discovered and named by Byrd for Robert S. Breyer, a patron of the expedition.

Mount Bumstead – discovered and named by Byrd for Albert H. Bumstead, who was the chief cartographer of the National Geographic Society. Bumstead invented the sun compass.

DeGanahl Glacier – discovered and named by Byrd for Joe DeGanahl, the navigator and dog driver of the Supporting Party of the expedition

Mount Lincoln Ellsworth – discovered and named by Byrd for Lincoln Ellsworth, an American Antarctic explorer

Grosvenor Mountains and Gilbert Grosvenor Range – discovered and named by Byrd for Gilbert Grosvenor, the President of the National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society helped fund the expedition.

Will Hays Mountains – discovered and named by Byrd for Will Hays, the former head of Motion Picture Producers and Distributors.

Hump Passage – Byrd referred to this place as the “Hump” and the 1961-62 Southern Party of the NZGSAE observed the feature. They recommended that part of the original name Byrd used be kept.

Hugh Mitchell Peak – discovered and named by Byrd for Hugh C. Mitchell, a U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey mathematician. Mitchell was a member of the National Geographic Society’s committee of experts which determined that Byrd reached the North Pole in 1926 and the South Pole in 1929 by airplane.

Moffett Glacier – discovered and named by Byrd for Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, USN, the first Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Dept. of the Navy.

Mount Pratt – discovered and named by Byrd for Thomas B. Pratt, an American financier and a contributor to the expedition.

Mount Rosenwald – discovered and named by Byrd for Julius Rosenwald of Chicago.  Rosenwald was a contributor to Byrd’s 1928-30 and 1933-35 expeditions.

Mount Zanuck and Darryl Zanuck Mountain – discovered and named by Byrd for Darryl F. Zanuck, an official of Twentieth Century- Fox Pictures.

*This information is taken from: United States Board on Geographic Names. Geographic Names of the Antarctic, 2^nd edition. Compiled and edited by Fred G. Alberts, with support from the U.S. Geological Survey National Mapping Division, the Defense Mapping Agency and the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation, 1995. The publication has information about the precise location of these features. The same information is also available on the internet at the USGS National Mapping Information, Geographic Names Information System Antarctica website (http://geonames.usgs.gov/antform.html).

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