Eastern Plain

Eastern Plain

 

a plain beneath the ice in the southeastern part of eastern Antarctica, between the mountain ranges on the Dufek and Shackleton coasts and the subglacial Gamburtsev Mountains. A large portion of the glacier’s bed in this region is below sea level. In places the surface of the Eastern Plain rises above 200 m. The thickness of the ice sheet over the Eastern Plain is 3,000-3,500 m. The plain was discovered as a result of surveying research from 1959 to 1961 carried out by USSR and US antarctic expeditions.