Explorers only reached the North Pole and the South Pole
in the 1900s. They risked chilling cold, blinding blizzards, and frostbite to
investigate these frozen zones.
WHERE ARE THE POLES?
The North Pole and South Pole are at the top
and bottom of the Earth, though you won’t find an actual pole to mark the
place. The poles are the northernmost and southernmost points on the planet.
The North Pole lies in the frozen Arctic Ocean. The South Pole lies on a high,
ice-covered plateau on the continent of Antarctica.
WHAT IS IT LIKE AT THE POLES?
The poles are the most unfriendly environments
on Earth. At the North Pole, large, flat sheets of floating ice can collide and
crush explorers. If the ice splits, the pieces can drift apart and leave
explorers stranded.
Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth.
Temperatures there sometimes fall more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.
Strong winds make it feel even colder. Blowing snow can make it nearly
impossible to see. Massive glaciers cover much of Antarctica. Explorers can
fall into deep cracks in the glaciers.
HOW DID EXPLORERS REACH THE NORTH POLE?
During the 1800s, expeditions by boat and across
the ice on foot proved that explorers could endure Arctic conditions. These
journeys were extremely risky, and nobody reached the poles. Some explorers
died in the attempt.
In the 1900s, explorers learned how to travel in
the Arctic from Inuit hunters who lived in ice-covered Greenland. American
explorer Robert Peary made several trips to Greenland before he tried to reach
the North Pole. Then he had a special ship built to break through the ice.
In 1909, Peary and his crew set off over the
ice. They wore Inuit clothing for warmth and rode on sleds pulled by dogs.
Peary and his assistant, Matthew Henson, probably were the first people to
reach the North Pole. If they didn’t quite make it, they came very close.
After Peary’s voyage, new technology helped explorers.
In 1926, Roald Amundsen of Norway flew an airplane over the North Pole. Richard
Byrd of the United States also tried to fly over the pole that year, but he may
have missed it.
In 1958, the USS Nautilus, a
nuclear-powered submarine, made the first undersea voyage to the North Pole. In
1977, a Soviet ship first reached the North Pole on the water’s surface. The
ship, an icebreaker, was specially designed to cut through ice in frozen
waters. By 1990, cameras in satellites, which circled Earth, had photographed
the entire polar region.
WHO TRAVELED TO THE SOUTH POLE?
In the early 1900s, explorers competed to
become the first to reach the South Pole. From 1901 to 1904, British naval
officer Robert Scott made the first attempt. Scott got farther south than
anyone had been before, but he failed to reach the pole.
In 1909, Ernest Shackleton of Britain led an
expedition across Antarctica on sleds pulled by dogs. They were only about 100
miles (about 160 kilometers) from the South Pole when a shortage of food forced
them to turn back.
Scott finally reached the South Pole in January 1912. But
a disappointed Scott found that Roald Amundsen had beaten him by one month.
Amundsen’s expedition arrived at the pole in December 1911. Amundsen was an
experienced Arctic explorer, and he had made careful preparations. Scott and
his companions died of injury, cold, and hunger on their return from the pole.
In 1914, Shackleton planned another expedition to
the South Pole. But his ship was crushed by ice, and he had to cross 800 miles
(1,300 kilometers) of freezing sea in a tiny boat to survive. Shackleton then
returned to save his stranded men. It was one of the greatest rescue feats in
history.
In 1929, Arctic explorer Richard Byrd became the
first person to fly over the South Pole. Byrd later pioneered the idea of
setting up permanent stations for scientific research in Antarctica. A station
called the Amundsen-Scott Base has stood at the South Pole since 1977.
WHO GOES TO THE POLES TODAY?
The North and South poles and nearby regions
still attract explorers. Some explorers seek to test themselves under harsh
conditions. Scientists on Antarctica study global warming and other phenomena.
In the Arctic, prospectors search for minerals. Oil was discovered under the
Arctic Sea in 1968.
Even tourists travel to polar regions. They are
eager to watch wildlife, climb mountains, or just experience two of the most
dramatic places on earth.
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