This portion of the mountainous coastland of Marie Byrd Land is one of the few areas in Antarctica where there are enough rock outcrops to make it practical to undertake geological mapping.

[4] A 1991 report defines the Northern Ford Ranges as including the Phillips, Fosdick and Chester Mountains.

The Devonian Ford granodiorite is found in the Phillips, Chester and Denfield Mountains.

The Cretaceous Byrd Coast granite is found throughout the Ford Ranges.

[5] The Ford Ranges were discovered by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition (ByrdAE) on December 5, 1929.