Antarctica is a continent that is located in the very south of our planet. Its center coincides (approximately) with the southern geographic pole. Oceans washing Antarctica: Pacific, Indian and Atlantic. Merging, they form the Southern Ocean.
Despite the harsh climatic conditions, the fauna of this continent still exists. Today, the inhabitants of Antarctica are more than 70 species of invertebrates. Four species of penguins also nest here. Even in ancient times, the inhabitants of Antarctica met. This is proved by the remains of dinosaurs found here. A man was even born on this earth (this happened for the first time in 1978).
The history of the study of Antarctica before the Bellingshausen and Lazarev expedition
After James Cook said that the lands beyond the Southern Arctic Circle are inaccessible, for more than 50 years not a single navigator wanted to refute in practice the opinion of such a great authority. However, it should be noted that in 1800-10. in the Pacific Ocean, its subantarctic strip, English sailors discovered small lands. In 1800 Henry Waterhouse found the Antipodes Islands here, in 1806 Abraham Bristow discovered Auckland Islands, and in 1810 Frederick Hesselbro came across Fr. Campbell
Discovery of New Shetland by W. Smith
William Smith, another captain from England who was carrying cargo to Valparaiso on the Williams brig, was thrown by a storm at Cape Horn to the south. In 1819, February 19, he twice saw the land located further south, and took it for the tip of the southern mainland. W. Smith returned home in June, and his stories about this find were very interested in St. John's wort. The second time he went to Valparaiso in September 1819 and moved out of curiosity to "his" land. He examined the coast for 2 days, after which he took possession of it, later called New Shetland.
The idea to organize a Russian expedition
Sarychev, Kotzebue and Kruzenshtern initiated the Russian expedition, the purpose of which was to search for the southern continent. Alexander I approved their proposal in February 1819. However, it turned out that the seafarers had very little time left: the departure was planned in the summer of that year. Due to the rush, various types of vessels were included in the expedition - the Mirny transport and the Vostok sloop converted into a sloop. Both ships were not adapted to sail in the difficult conditions of the polar latitudes. Their commanders were Bellingshausen and Lazarev.
Bellingshausen Biography
Thaddeus Bellingshausen was born on the island of Ezel (now Saaremaa, Estonia) on August 18, 1779. Communication with the sailors, the proximity of the sea from early childhood contributed to the fact that the boy fell in love with the fleet. At the age of 10, he was sent to the Marine Corps. Bellingshausen, being a midshipman, sailed to England. In 1797 he graduated from the corps and served with the rank of warrant officer on the ships of the Revel squadron sailing in the Baltic Sea.
In 1803-06, Thaddeus Bellingshausen took part in the swimming of Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky, which served as an excellent school for him. Upon returning to his homeland, the sailor continued his service in the Baltic Fleet, and then, in 1810, was transferred to the Black Sea Fleet. Here he commanded first the frigate "Minerva", and then "Flora". A lot of work has been done over the years of service in the Black Sea to refine sea charts in the Caucasus coast. Bellingshausen also made a number of astronomical observations. He accurately determined the coordinates of the most important points of the coast. Thus, he came to the leadership of the expedition already an experienced sailor, scientist and researcher.
Who is M.P. Lazarev?
His assistant, who commanded Mirny, was Lazarev Mikhail Petrovich. He was an experienced, educated sailor, who later became a famous naval commander and founder of the Lazarevsky Maritime School. Lazarev Mikhail Petrovich was born in 1788, November 3, in the Vladimir province. In 1803 he graduated from the Marine Corps, and then for 5 years sailed in the Mediterranean and North Seas, in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Upon returning to his homeland, Lazarev continued to serve on the ship Vsevolod. He was a member of the battles against the Anglo-Swedish fleet. During World War II, Lazarev served on the Phoenix, participated in the landing in Danzig.
At the suggestion of a joint Russian-American company in September 1813, he became the commander of the Suvorov ship, on which he made his first round-the-world trip to the shores of Alaska. During this voyage, he showed himself to be a determined and skilled naval officer, as well as a brave explorer.
Expedition preparation
For a long time, the position of captain of the "East" and the head of the expedition was vacant. Only a month before going to the open sea F.F. Bellingshausen. Therefore, the work on the recruitment of the crews of these two ships (about 190 people), as well as providing them with the necessary for a long voyage and conversion into the Mirny sloop, fell on the shoulders of the commander of this ship, M.P. Lazarev. The main task of the expedition was designated as purely scientific. Mirny and Vostok differed not only in their size. “Mirny” was more convenient and only lost to “Vostok” in speed - in speed.
First discoveries
Both ships on July 4, 1819 left Kronstadt. Thus began the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev. The sailors reached about. South Georgia in December. They spent 2 days inventorying the southwestern coast of this island and discovered another, which was named after Annenkov, the lieutenant of Mirny. After that, heading south-east, the ships discovered on December 22 and 23 3 small islands of volcanic origin (Marquise de Traverse).
Then, moving southeast, Antarctic sailors reached the "Sandwich Land" discovered by D. Cook. This, as it turned out, is an archipelago. In clear weather, rare in these places, on January 3, 1820, the Russians came close to South Tula - the closest land area to the pole discovered by Cook. They found that this "land" consists of 3 rocky islands, covered with eternal ice and snow.
The first intersection of the Arctic Circle
The Russians, bypassing heavy ice from the east, crossed the Southern Arctic Circle for the first time on January 15, 1820. The next day, they met on their way the glaciers of Antarctica. They reached great heights and extended beyond the horizon. The expedition continued to move east, but always met this continent. On this day, a problem was solved that D. Cook considered unsolvable: the Russians approached the northeastern ledge of the "ice continent" by less than 3 km. After 110 years, the Norwegian whalers saw the ice of Antarctica. They called this mainland the Princess Martha Beach.
A few more approaches to the mainland and the discovery of an ice shelf
"East" and "Mirny", trying to get around impassable ice from the east, crossed the Arctic Circle 3 more times this summer. They wanted to go closer to the pole, but could not move further than the first time. Many times, ships were in danger. Suddenly, a clear day was replaced by a gloomy one, it was snowing, the wind was getting stronger, and the horizon was becoming almost invisible. An ice shelf was discovered in the area, named in 1960 in honor of Lazarev. It was mapped, however, far north of its current position. Nevertheless, there is no mistake here: as is now established, the ice shelves of Antarctica are retreating to the south.
Indian Ocean Swimming and Parking in Sydney
The short Antarctic summer is over. In 1820, in early March, Mirny and Vostok parted by agreement in order to better explore the 50th latitudes of the Indian Ocean in the southeastern part. They met in April in Sydney and stood there for a month. In July, Bellingshausen and Lazarev examined the Tuamotu archipelago, discovered a number of inhabited atolls that were not mapped, and named them after Russian statesmen, naval commanders and generals.
Further discoveries
C. Thorson landed for the first time on the atolls of Greig and Moller. And those in the west and in the center of Tuamotu were called Bellingshausen by the Russians. In the north-west, Lazarev Island appeared on the map. The ships went from there to Tahiti. On August 1, north of it, they discovered Fr. East, and on August 19 on the way back to Sydney, several more islands were discovered southeast of Fiji, including the islands of Simonov and Mikhailov.
New assault on the mainland
In November 1820, after stationing in Port Jackson, the expedition went to the "ice continent" and withstood a severe storm in mid-December. The sloops crossed the Arctic Circle three more times. Twice they did not come close to the mainland, but the third time they saw clear signs of land. In 1821, on January 10, the expedition advanced south, but was forced to retreat again before the ice barrier that arose. The Russians, turning east, saw a few hours later the shore. The island covered with snow was named after Peter I.
Discovery of the Bank of Alexander I
On January 15, in clear weather, the discoverers of Antarctica saw land in the south. A high cape opened from Mirny, connected to a chain of low mountains by a narrow isthmus, and from the East a mountainous coast was visible. Bellingshausen called it "The Shore of Alexander I". Unfortunately, it was not possible to break through to it due to continuous ice. Bellingshausen again turned south and went into the Drake Channel, discovering New Shetland, discovered by W. Smith. The discoverers of Antarctica examined it and found that it is a chain of islands that extend nearly 600 km eastward. Some South Shetland Islands were named in memory of the battles with Napoleon.
Expedition Results
On January 30, it was discovered that Vostok needed major repairs, and it was decided to turn north. In 1821, on July 24, the sloops returned to Kronstadt after a journey of 751 days. During this time, the discoverers of Antarctica were sailing for 527 days, and 122 of them were south of 60 ° S. w.
According to geographical results, the perfect expedition became the greatest in the 19th century and the first Russian Antarctic expedition in history. A new part of the world was discovered, later called Antarctica. Russian sailors 9 times approached its shores, and four times approached a distance of 3-15 km. The discoverers of Antarctica for the first time characterized large areas adjacent to the "ice continent", classified and described the ice of the mainland, and also outlined in general terms the correct characteristics of its climate. 28 objects were mapped on the Antarctic, and all of them received Russian names. In the tropics and in the high southern latitudes, 29 islands were discovered.