The ancients knew something about Antarctica, although how they did remains a bit of a mystery.
Many ancient cultures and mythologies knew about a land at the South Pole. The ancient Greeks are credited with naming Antarctica, which means Anti-Arctic or the opposite of the Arctic.
Ptolemy, a Greek philospher, talked about the South Pole as Terra Australis, a land far to the south that would "balance" the top-heavy regions of Europe and Asia.
Captain James Cook came within 75 miles of Antarctica way back in 1773 and skirted around the Antarctic Circle in the winter of 1773 and 1774, but he did not officially see the land. As far as explorers go, this doesn't count.
The first time the land was officially visited is a subject of some controversy. Everyone agrees it happened in the year 1820, but three individuals lay claim to the honor. A captain in the Russian navy with the German-sounding name of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen is one of those often credited with this first sighting. He was on an expedition funded by the Russians.
Edward Bransfield, a captain in the Royal Navy of Great Britain, also visited Antarctica in 1820. Most sources agree that von Bellingshausen beat Bransfield by three days. However, there is no universal agreement.
Later that same year, an American seal trader named Nathaniel Palmer also visited Antarctica. None of these three men actually stepped foot on Antarctica, although all had good sightings of land. As far as explorers go, that does count.
The first documented landing on Antarctica is generally accorded to John Davis, another seal trader from America, who reached the Antarctic continent in 1821.
Despite this monumental achievement and finding, little acclaim came with these explorations. In 1839, an American expedition set out from Australia to explore Antarctica. In 1841, an expedition led by James Clark Ross discovered areas still bearing his name (Ross Sea, Ross Island, and the Ross Ice Shelf).
Ernest Shackleton and T. W. Edgeworth David became the first men to climb Mount Erebus and reach the South Magnetic Pole in 1907. Schackleton explored considerable areas of Antarctica and can claim to be the first to traverse the Ross Ice Shelf, the first to travel accross the Transarctic Mountain Range, and the first to venture onto the South Polar Plateau.
However, it was Norwegian Roald Amundsen who first touched the South Pole, traveling by ship from the Bay of Whales and then up the Axel Heiberg Glacier.
In the 1930s and 1940s, Richard Evelyn Byrd led several Antarctic expeditions and gets credit for pioneering mechanized vehicular transport across the continent.
No one knew much what to do with Antarctica. As a continent, it set many records. It's the most southerly continent on earth, and also the coldest. It has the highest average elevations of any continent. Contrary to its icy and snowy image, it's also the driest place on earth. Technically, the interior of Antarctica is the world's largest desert.
It also is the only continent on earth to have zero population. No one has ever lived there permanently. In 1959, 12 nations signed a treaty setting aside Antarctica for scientific research and ecological protection. The treaty prohibits military or mining operations in Antarctica.
Today, upward of 4,000 people, mostly scientists conducting highly specialized research in numerous fields, take up temporary residence in Antarctica and tourists even venture there occasionally. |
