The seaward end was first sighted in February 1911 from the Terra Nova, under Lt. Harry L.L. Pennell, Royal Navy, and was subsequently named "Bowers Hills" in honour of Henry Robertson Bowers who perished with Captain Robert Falcon Scott on their return from the South Pole in 1912.
The feature was photographed from United States Navy aircraft in 1946-47 and 1960–62, and was surveyed and mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 1962–63.
The name was amended to Bowers Mountains upon USGS mapping which showed the group to be a major one with peaks rising to nearly 2,600 metres (8,500 ft).[1]
The Bowers Mountains extend north into the Pacific Ocean.
The Stuhlinger Ice Piedmont is at the northern end of the mountains.
The Explorers Range runs along the northwest side of the range beside the Rennick Glacier.[2]
Further south the Lanterman Range runs along the side of the Rennick Glacier and its tributary, the Canham Glacier, which defines the southwest limit of the range.
The Alamein Range and Salamander Range are further south.
The Crown Hills form the southern tip of the range, between the Canham Glacier and the Black Glacier to the east, which flows north to join the Lillie Glacier to the east of the Mount Sterling massif.
The Molar Massif is between the Lanterman Range and the Mount Sterling massif.
Further north, the Posey Range forms the eastern edge of the Bowers Mountains, with the Lillie Glacier to its east.[3]