It was so named by the New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition (1958–59) because its shape resembles the pyramidal ceremonial platforms used by the Maya civilization.
[1][2] The slpoes of Maya Mountain expose a sequence of sedimentary strata of the Beacon Supergroup.
It is underlain by the Metschel Tillite and the Aztec Siltstone with the Beacon Heights Quartzite at the mountain's base.
It is a regionally significant unconformity that separates the Permian glacial strata of Metschel Tillite of the Victoria Group from the underlying Devonian redbeds of the Aztec Siltstone of the Taylor Group within the Beacon Supergroup.
The Maya Erosion Surface is overlain by locally preserved remnants of the Metschel Tillite.