Fremouw Peak (84°17′S 164°20′E / 84.283°S 164.333°E / -84.283; 164.333) is a prominent peak, 2,550 metres (8,370 ft) high, forming the south side of the mouth of Prebble Glacier, in the Queen Alexandra Range, Antarctica. It was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names for Edward J. Fremouw, a United States Antarctic Research Program aurora scientist at South Pole Station, 1959.[1][2]

The Triassic Fremouw Formation is named for a 614-metre (2,014 ft) thick interval of sedimentary rocks exposed on the slopes of Fremouw Peak. This peak serves as the type locality for the Fremouw Formation. Fragmentary vertebrate fossils have been found in these sedimentary rocks.[3][4] Of more significance is an outcrop of Triassic peat, permineralized (silicified) into chert, that occurs on Fremouw Peak. This unique chert deposit contains anatomically preserved plant fossils. These fossils can be used to reconstructing complex three-dimensional plant structures and understand reproductive biology and development.[5][6]

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References

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  1. ^ "Fremouw Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  2. ^ Stewart, J., 2011. Antarctica: An Encyclopedia, 2nd ed. Jefferson, North Carolina and London, McFarland & Company, Inc. 1771 pp. ISBN 978-0-7864-3590-6
  3. ^ Barrett, P.J., 1969, Stratigraphy and petrology of the mainly fluviatile Permian and Triassic Beacon rocks, Beardmore Glacier area, Antarctica. Ohio State University Institute of Polar Studies Report 34, pp1-132 .
  4. ^ Barrett, P.J., Elliot, D.H., Lindsay, J.F., 1986. The Beacon Supergroup (Devonian–Triassic) and Ferrar Group (Jurassic) in the Beardmore Glacier area, Antarctica. In: Turner, M.D., and Splettstoesser, J.F., eds, pp. 339-428, Geology of the central Transantarctic Mountains. American Geophysical Research Series, 36. Washington, DC, American Geophysical Union, 453 pp. ISBN 978-1118664797
  5. ^ Taylor, E.L., and Taylor, T.N., 1990. Structurally Preserved Permian and Triassic Floras from Antarctica. In: Taylor, T.N., and Taylor, E.L., eds, pp. 149-164, Antarctic Paleobiology, its Role in the Reconstruction of Gondwana, New York, New York, Springer-Verlag, 216 pp. ISBN 978-1-4612-3238-4
  6. ^ Bomfleur, B., Schneider, J.W., Schöner, R., Viereck-Götte, L. and Kerp, H., 2011. Fossil sites in the continental Victoria and Ferrar groups (Triassic-Jurassic) of north Victoria Land, Antarctica. Polarforschung, 80(2), pp.88-99.