Which mountain range is buried under the Antarctic ice sheet?

The Gamburtsev Mountains are a mountain range buried beneath the Antarctic ice sheet in East Antarctica. They lie near Dome A and the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility, concealed under hundreds of meters of ice and snow.

The range is approximately 1,200 kilometers long and is comparable in scale to the European Alps. Radar, gravity measurements, and seismic surveys have revealed a rugged landscape of peaks and valleys even though no one can see the mountains directly from the surface.

The Gamburtsev range is especially important because it may have helped influence the development of the East Antarctic ice sheet. Evidence suggests that glaciers flowing from the mountains contributed to the ice sheet’s formation around the end of the Eocene, roughly 34 million years ago. A common mix-up is the Transantarctic Mountains, which are largely exposed along the continent’s edge; the Gamburtsev range is the one hidden deep beneath the ice.