Antarctica is a continent located in the very south of our planet. Its center coincides (approximately) with the geographic south 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, there were inhabitants of Antarctica. 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).
History of the exploration of Antarctica before the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev
After James Cook's statement that the lands beyond the Antarctic Circle are inaccessible, for more than 50 years not a single navigator wanted to refute the opinion of such a major authority in practice. However, it should be noted that in 1800-10. in the Pacific Ocean, its subantarctic strip, Englishsailors discovered small lands. In 1800, Henry Waterhouse found the Antipodes Islands here, in 1806 Abraham Bristow discovered the Auckland Islands, and in 1810 Frederick Hesselbrough came across about. Campbell.
Discovery of New Shetland by W. Smith
William Smith, another captain from England, sailing with cargo to Valparaiso in the brig "Williams", was driven south by a storm off Cape Horn. In 1819, on February 19, he twice saw the land located further to the south, and took it for the tip of the southern mainland. W. Smith returned home in June, and his stories about this find were of great interest to the hunters. The second time he went to Valparaiso in September 1819 and moved out of curiosity to "his" land. He explored 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 mainland. Alexander I approved their proposal in February 1819. However, it turned out that the sailors had very little time left: the sailing was planned for the summer of that year. Because of the haste, the expedition included various types of ships - the Mirny transport converted into a sloop and the Vostok sloop. Both ships were not adapted for sailing in the difficult conditions of the polar latitudes. Bellingshausen and Lazarev became their commanders.
Bellingshausen's biography
Thaddeus Bellingshausen was born on the island of Ezel (now -Saaremaa, Estonia) August 18, 1779. Communication with 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 Naval Corps. Bellingshausen, being a midshipman, sailed to England. In 1797 he graduated from the corps and served as a midshipman on the ships of the Reval squadron sailing in the B altic Sea.
Thaddeus Bellingshausen in 1803-06 took part in the voyage of Krusenstern and Lisyansky, which served as an excellent school for him. The sailor, upon returning to his homeland, continued his service in the B altic 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 on the Black Sea to refine the sea charts in the region of the Caucasian coast. Bellingshausen also made a number of astronomical observations. He accurately determined the coordinates of the most important points on the coast. Thus, he came to lead the expedition as an experienced sailor, scientist and explorer.
Who is MP Lazarev?
To match him was his assistant, who commanded the "Mirny", - Lazarev Mikhail Petrovich. He was an experienced, educated sailor, who later became a renowned naval commander and founder of the Lazarevskaya Naval School. Lazarev Mikhail Petrovich was born in 1788, on November 3, in the Vladimir province. In 1803 he graduated from the Naval Corps, and then for 5 years he sailed in the Mediterranean and North Seas, in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indianoceans. Lazarev, upon returning to his homeland, continued his service on the Vsevolod ship. He was a participant in the battles against the Anglo-Swedish fleet. During the Patriotic War, 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 ship "Suvorov", on which he made his first round-the-world trip to the coast of Alaska. During this voyage, he proved to be a determined and skillful naval officer, as well as a bold explorer.
Preparing for the expedition
For a long time there was a vacant position of the captain of the "Vostok" and the head of the expedition. Only a month before going to the open sea, F. F. was approved for it. Bellingshausen. Therefore, the work of recruiting the crews of these two ships (about 190 people), as well as providing them with the necessary for a long journey and re-equipping them 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 one thing - in speed.
First discoveries
Both ships left Kronstadt on July 4, 1819. Thus began the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev. The sailors reached about. South Georgia in December For 2 days they carried out an inventory of the southwestern coast of this island and discovered another one, which was named after Annenkov, Lieutenant"Peaceful". After that, heading southeast, the ships discovered on December 22 and 23 3 small islands of volcanic origin (Marquis de Traverse).
Then, moving to the south-east, the sailors of Antarctica reached the "Sandwich Land" discovered by D. Cook. It turned out to be an archipelago. With clear weather, which is rare in these places, on January 3, 1820, the Russians came close to South Tula, the land area discovered by Cook closest to the pole. They discovered that this "land" consists of 3 rocky islands covered with eternal ice and snow.
First crossing of the Antarctic Circle
Russians, bypassing the heavy ice from the east, January 15, 1820 for the first time crossed the Antarctic Circle. The next day they met on their way the glaciers of Antarctica. They reached great heights and stretched beyond the horizon. The expedition members continued to move east, but they always met this mainland. On this day, the problem that D. Cook considered insoluble was solved: the Russians approached the northeastern ledge of the "ice continent" less than 3 km. After 110 years, the ice of Antarctica was seen by Norwegian whalers. They named this mainland Princess Martha Coast.
A few more approaches to the mainland and the discovery of an ice shelf
"Vostok" and "Mirny", trying to get around the impenetrable ice from the east, crossed the Arctic Circle 3 more times this summer. They wanted to go closer to the pole, but they could notgo further than the first time. Many times the ships were in danger. Suddenly, a clear day was replaced by a gloomy one, it was snowing, the wind was picking up, and the horizon became almost invisible. In this area, an ice shelf was discovered, named in 1960 in honor of Lazarev. It was marked on the map, however, much to the north of its current position. However, there is no mistake here: Antarctica's ice shelves are now found to be retreating south.
Swimming in the Indian Ocean and parking in Sydney
The short Antarctic summer is over. In 1820, in early March, "Mirny" and "Vostok" separated by agreement in order to better view the 50th latitude of the Indian Ocean in the southeastern part. They met in April in Sydney and stayed here for a month. Bellingshausen and Lazarev explored the Tuamotu archipelago in July, discovered a number of inhabited atolls here that were not mapped, and named them after Russian statesmen, naval commanders and commanders.
Further discoveries
K. Thorson landed for the first time on the atolls of Greig and Moller. And the Tuamotu, located in the west and in the center, were called the Russian Islands by Bellingshausen. In the northwest, Lazarev Island appeared on the map. Ships from there went to Tahiti. On August 1, north of it, they discovered about. East, and on August 19, on the way back to Sydney, they discovered several more islands southeast of Fiji, including Simonov and Mikhailov Islands.
New assault on the mainland
In November 1820, afterparking in Port Jackson, the expedition went to the "ice mainland" and withstood a strong 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 moved south, but was forced to retreat again in front of the emerging ice barrier. The Russians, turning to the east, saw the coast in a few hours. The island covered with snow was named after Peter I.
Discovery of the Alexander Coast I
On January 15, in clear weather, the discoverers of Antarctica saw land in the south. From the "Mirny" a high cape opened up, connected to a chain of low mountains by a narrow isthmus, and from the "Vostok" a mountainous coast was visible. Bellingshausen called it the "Coast of Alexander I". Unfortunately, it was not possible to break through to it because of the solid ice. Bellingshausen turned south again and entered the Drake Strait, discovering here New Shetland, discovered by W. Smith. The discoverers of Antarctica explored it and found that it is a chain of islands that stretch almost 600 km to the east. Some of the South Shetland Islands were named after battles against Napoleon.
Expedition results
On January 30, it was discovered that the 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 Antarcticawere under sail for 527 days, and 122 of them were south of 60 ° S. sh.
According to the geographical results, the perfect expedition became the greatest in the 19th century and the first ever Russian Antarctic expedition. A new part of the world was discovered, later named Antarctica. Russian sailors approached its shores 9 times, and four times they approached at a distance of 3-15 km. The discoverers of Antarctica for the first time characterized the large water areas adjacent to the "ice continent", classified and described the ice of the mainland, and also in general terms indicated the correct characterization of its climate. 28 objects were put on the map of Antarctica, and all of them received Russian names. In the tropics and in the high southern latitudes, 29 islands were discovered.
