The Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) are an immense mountain range stretching approximately 3,500 km across Antarctica, effectively dividing the continent into East and West Antarctica. First sighted by James Clark Ross in 1841, these uplifted sedimentary mountains are notable for featuring some of Antarctica's few ice-free areas, such as the unique McMurdo Dry Valleys, and boast the continent's highest peak, Mount Kirkpatrick, at 4,528 meters.

The range posed a significant barrier for early explorers, with the first successful crossing achieved by Robert Falcon Scott's party during the 1901-1904 British National Antarctic Expedition. Other historic crossings included those by Ernest Shackleton in 1908 via the Beardmore Glacier and Roald Amundsen in 1911 through the Axel Heiberg Glacier. The name "Transantarctic Mountains" was officially introduced by geologist Warren B. Hamilton in 1960, following extensive fieldwork. While life in the interior is now limited to microbes, lichens, and fungi, ancient forests once thrived here, gradually disappearing as the continent cooled.