Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
9
Figure 1.3. (opposite) Drift-
ing off the coast of north-
ern Victoria Land, loose
pack ice offers less of a
challenge to ships seeking
passage to the south than
tight pack or narrow leads.
Backlit by the sun are the
three states of water—
vapor, liquid, and ice.
Figure 1.4. When Ross
approached the edge of the
ice pack on January 3, 1841,
he found it tightly packed
with small floes along its
edge. Heading straight into
the pack,
Erebus
and
Terror
ground through the resis-
tant perimeter, then broke
into more open water.
signaling directions. The ice was harsh, but the thumps and scrapes reached a sort of ca-
dence, and the ships moved through.
For the next four days Erebus and Terror alternately drifted with a tight pack dur-
ing snow squalls or made slow progress under light winds. At one calm period Ross de-
scended onto an ice floe and took magnetic measurements, 68° 28′ S, 176° 31′ E, with a
dip of 83°, putting the South Magnetic Pole 500 miles to the southwest. Early on January
9 the ships quite suddenly broke out into open water, having traversed 134 miles of pack.
With a freshening gale they ran with the wind for almost 30 miles, then trimmed sails
and hove to. By noon the next day the storm had retreated, and with high hopes Ross
pointed his ships directly toward the South Magnetic Pole.
But no sooner had the ships gotten under way than the watch reported a land blink, a
phenomenon that occurs when land beyond the horizon radiates reflected sunlight, pro-
ducing a narrow, bright band at the horizon, a perceptible aura of mountains unseen. At
2:30 A.M. on January 11 they spotted land during the middle watch—a thin escarpment
beyond the dark water, perhaps 100 miles away, that shimmered and then was lost in the
haze. By 9:00 A.M. the fog had lifted, and Robert McCormick, the surgeon and natu-
ral historian on the Erebus, was in the crow's nest sketching the scene as it materialized
beneath an azure sky. He wrote, “The weather was all that could be desired for giving
eVect to such a magnificent panorama, as gradually unfolded itself like a dissolving view
to our astonished eyes.” A vast mountain range struck oV to the southwest then arched
back to the southeast. Crowning the range was a line of summits completely mantled in
snow, except for thin, dark lines at some of the peaks and ridgelines. The lower reaches
of the mountains formed a cliV of volcanic-appearing black rock that was festooned with
horizontal streaks of snow. Around the northern tip of the cliV there appeared to be a
