9781422279250

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P O L A R E X P L O R AT I O N : C O U R AG E A N D C O N T ROV E R S Y

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W hat lies at the top of theworld? That question has intrigued explorers for centuries. In the year 325 bce ,aGreek sailor namedPytheas sailed north.He told of finding a land of the “midnight sun,” where the sun never set. He also described large sheets of ice and amazing colored lights that lit up the sky. Based on what we know now, historians think Pytheaswas oneof thefirst Europeans to reach the Arctic. The southern tip of the worldwas another mystery.The ancient Greeks liked things to balance out.They fig- ured if there was a large landmass in the north, then there must be one in the south as well. As it turned out, theywere correct.Actuallyfinding this “unknown southern land” took anoth- er 2,000 years, though. The northern polar regions were difficult enough to explore. The southern ones were nearly impossible. Explorers ventured into the polar regions for many reasons. Some went seeking fame or to bringhonor to their home country.Others weremotivated by money. They hoped to cash in on

the resources—from animal furs to precious metals—that these regions could offer. Still others went in the interest of science. They were eager to find out more about the geography of the earth and what might exist in different places. It was a slow process. After Pytheas, it took another 1,000 years for Europeans to journey north again. It was several hundred years after that before exploration began in earnest. ExploringAntarctica took even longer. Rough seas turned back most adven- turers until the 1700s. By the turn of the 1800s, though, polar exploration was in a golden age. Both poles were reached within a few years of each other in the early 1900s. Today, exploration continues. There are new people, new equip- ment, and new goals. Still, the un- derlying reasons have not changed much. People are still interested in what the polar regions are like, and what they can teach us.And there are always a few who will go to the ends of the earth to find out.