PRINCE ALBERT MOUNTAINS

major mountain group of Antarctica. A section of the Transantarctic Mountains, the Prince Albert Mountains extend for about 230 miles (370 km) along the Scott Coast of Victoria Land, west of the Ross Sea. They are bordered on the south by the Ferrar Glacier and on the north by the Priestley Glacier and the Deep Freeze Range. The isolated Mount Brooke (8,776 feet ), located west of McMurdo Sound, is the highest peak. At the northern end of the range stands Mount Mackintosh, at 8,097 feet (2,468 m). The mountains were discovered in February 1841 by the British explorer Sir James Clark Ross, who named them in honour of Queen Victoria's consort. The area was first explored by the British in the early 1900s, followed by expeditions from New Zealand and the United States in the mid-20th century.