[1] This peak, which was probably known to early sealers in the area, was charted by the French Antarctic Expedition under Jean-Baptiste Charcot, 1908–10, and takes its name from Cape Melville.

[6] Rock formations consisting of lava flows and pyroclastics crop out at and close to Sherratt Bay to the south; two outcrops form the vents of the volcano.

[9] Until four million years ago,[10] subduction was taking place west of the South Shetland Islands, forming a volcanic arc.

[11] During the late Cenozoic, the formation of the Bransfield Rift split the South Shetland Islands off the Antarctic Peninsula[4] and severed the arc in two parts.

[4] The first stage crops out close to the sea and consists of alternating lava-pyroclastic layers; it is called the Hektor Icefall Formation.

[24] Potassium-argon dating has yielded ages of 296,000 ± 27,000 and 72,000 ± 15,000 years ago for the first stage,[25] partly contemporary to submarine volcanism in the Bransfield Strait.

[28] A volcanic ash layer found in a marine core about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast from Melville Peak may imply that the volcano was active a few thousand years ago.