Crosson Ice Shelf is an Antarctic ice shelf

Ice shelf

An ice shelf is a thick, floating platform of ice that forms where a glacier or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface. Ice shelves are only found in Antarctica, Greenland and Canada. The boundary between the floating ice shelf and the grounded ice that feeds it is called...

, about 35 miles wide, located north and northeast of Mount Murphy

Mount Murphy

Mount Murphy is a massive, snow-covered and highly eroded shield volcano with steep, rocky slopes. It is directly south of Bear Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land. The mountain is bounded by the Smith, Pope and Haynes Glaciers....

 along the Walgreen Coast

Walgreen Coast

The Walgreen Coast is a portion of the coast of Antarctica between Cape Herlacher and Cape Waite, or between Bakutis Coast in the west, and Eights Coast. It is the easternmost part of Marie Byrd Land. It stretches from 114°12'W to 103°24'W. Eights Coast to the east is already part of Ellsworth Land...

 of Marie Byrd Land

Marie Byrd Land

Marie Byrd Land is the portion of West Antarctica lying east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and south of the Pacific Ocean, extending eastward approximately to a line between the head of the Ross Ice Shelf and Eights Coast. It stretches between 158°W and 103°24'W...

. The ice shelf is nurtured by Smith

Smith Glacier

Smith Glacier is a low-gradient Antarctic glacier, over 160 km long, draining from Toney Mountain in an ENE direction to Amundsen Sea. A northern distributary, Kohler Glacier, drains to Dotson Ice Shelf but the main flow passes to the sea between Bear Peninsula and Mount Murphy, terminating at...

, Pope

Pope Glacier

Pope Glacier is a glacier about 20 nautical miles long, flowing north along the west side of Mount Murphy to Crosson Ice Shelf on Walgreen Coast, in Marie Byrd Land. Mapped by United States Geological Survey from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1959-66. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic...

, Vane

Vane Glacier

Vane Glacier is a broad glacier that drains the northeast slopes of Mount Murphy in Marie Byrd Land. It enters Crosson Ice Shelf between Eisberg Head and Boyd Head. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1959–66, and was named by the Advisory...

, and Haynes Glacier

Haynes Glacier

Haynes Glacier is a broad glacier flowing to Walgreen Coast, to the east of Mount Murphy, in Marie Byrd Land. Mapped by United States Geological Survey from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1959-66. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names after Maj. John W...

s. Mapped by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1959-66. Named by Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) for Commander W.E. Crosson, U.S. Navy (USN), Commanding Officer of the Antarctic Construction Group during Operation Deep Freeze

Operation Deep Freeze

Operation Deep Freeze is the codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on...

1973.