Exploration & Discovery of Antarctica
Ever since Captain James Cook first sailed across the Antarctic Circle in 1772-5 the Royal Navy has been intimately involved in the discovery and exploration of Antarctica.
At the beginning of the 17th century the very bottom part of the world was marked on maps as one huge continent called `Terra Australis Incognita’, the `Unknown Southern Land’. But no one was really sure what was there.
James Cook
In 1768 – 71 Cook charted the east coast of this continent, which was in fact the east coast of Australia and claimed it for Britain. Cook’s next voyage in 1772 took him further south in an attempt to see if there was any large area of land south of Australia and became the first person recorded to have crossed into the Antarctic Circle.
After Cook, in 1823 James Weddell reached as far south as 74° 15’S to a stretch of water now known as the Weddell Sea. He was incredibly lucky to have got this far because this sea is usually full of dangerous icebergs. He also found a new type of seal which is now named after him – the Weddell Seal.
James Clark Ross
Another naval explorer whose name lives on in the Antarctic is James Clark Ross. Ross set sail in 1839 in Erebus and Terror to discover the Ross Ice Shelf, which forms an enormous area of ice the size of France. He then discovered Ross Island and named the two volcanoes Mount Erebus and Mount Terror.
Mount Erebus
After Ross’ important discoveries, Antarctica was once again ignored by the rest of the world.
Next >>
|
Polar Quest Navigation
Quick Facts
Introduction
Searching for the ends of the Earth
The North Pole
Exploration & Discovery of Antarctica <<
Race to the South Pole
Polar Quest
|
