What is the highest peak in the Transantarctic Mountains?

The highest peak in the Transantarctic Mountains is Mount Kirkpatrick, reaching about 4,528 metres.

Mount Kirkpatrick is in the Queen Alexandra Range of Antarctica, one of the major ranges that cross the continent and divide the East and West Antarctic ice sheets. The mountain is notably ice-free in places, allowing researchers to study exposed rocks and fossils in an otherwise heavily glaciated landscape.

The British Antarctic Expedition of 1907–1909 discovered and named the peak. Its name honours a Glasgow businessman who was one of the expedition’s original supporters. Mount Kirkpatrick stands near Mount Dickerson and Decennial Peak, with glaciers including Prebble Glacier descending from the surrounding slopes.

The area is scientifically important because fossil-bearing rocks nearby preserve evidence of Antarctica’s warmer prehistoric past. Dinosaur discoveries from the Hanson Formation, including early Jurassic species, have helped reconstruct the ancient ecosystems that existed before Antarctica became locked beneath its modern ice-covered climate.