The Discovery of Antarctica
The continent of Antarctica was formed millions of years ago, but the history of humans in Antarctica is short.
Here you will find a timeline highlighting some of the key parts of the Antarctic human history.
This map shows the route and some of the places visited by Captain Cook on his voyage on the Resolution between 1772-1775. Click on the numbers to find out more information about his route.
Portrait of Yves Joseph de Kerguelen.
Activities
Use the map to answer the questions below. You can get back to the StoryMap by clicking on the two arrows in the top corner.
Q1. What date did Captain Cook cross the Antarctic Circle? (Hint: click on number five on the map)
Q2. Why did the expedition not travel further into the Antarctic region? (Hint: Click on number five on the map)
Q3. Where did they spend Christmas? What did they name the bay where they stayed? (Hint: Click on number 10 on the map to find out)
This map shows Bellinghausen's expedition to Antarctica, along with locations of the first Antarctic steps. Each number represents a different event. Click on the numbers to read more.
Painting of Bellingshausen's Vostok and Lazarev's Mirny in Antarctic waters. Source: SaintPetersburg.com
Here is a map of the Scott (green) and Amundsen's (red) outward and return routes across the Ross Ice Shelf to the South Pole.
Here is a map of Shackleton's Trans-Antarctic expedition . There are three routes: Endurance (blue line), Instituto Pesca No.1 (green line) and lifeboats (red line).
Click on the numbers to learn details about each stage of the voyage. You can click on the two arrows in the top corner to bring back the StoryMap.
Dr Kat Ganly was involved in organising both the 2019 and 2020 pride. You can read more information about her experience with organising one of the most remote pride events in the world here !
To learn more about the events leading to how Antarctica is today click here .
Activities
Q4. Whose ship was the first to cross the Antarctic circle?
Q5. Can you list three countries that Bellinghausen passed on his expedition to Antarctica?
Q6. Who was the first woman to step on the Antarctic continent?
Q7. Which Antarctic base was the first to host a Pride event?
Choose the 'The Geopolitics of Antarctica' button under the title bar to start the next StoryMap.
