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24-676: The bay and its headlands were first charted by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition , 1897–99. The bay was named by the expedition's leader, Adrien de Gerlache , for Karl Börgen, the German astronomer . Canty Point was later surveyed by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1955. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee for John Canty of FIDS, radio operator/mechanic at

48-458: A deficiency of Vitamin C was not discovered until the 1920s, but Cook was convinced that raw meat was a possible cure for scurvy due to his experiences with Robert Peary in the Arctic. He retrieved the frozen penguin and seal meat and insisted that each man eat some each day. Even Gerlache began to eat the meat and slowly the men recovered their health. It is now known that raw meat and organs contain

72-523: A seasonal basis. In previous centuries some semi-permanent whaling stations were established on the continent, and some whalers would live there for a year or more. At least eleven children have been born in Antarctica, albeit in stations north of the Antarctic Circle. Download coordinates as: The circumference of the Antarctic Circle is roughly 16,000 kilometres (9,900 mi). The area south of

96-427: A small amount of Vitamin C. Several months of hardship followed. Even as spring and summer arrived, attempts to free the ship and its crew from the grip of the ice failed. By January 1899, Belgica was still trapped in ice about seven feet (2 m) thick and the possibility of another winter in the ice seemed real. Open water was visible about one-half mile (800 m) away and Cook suggested that trenches be cut to

120-640: Is below the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year (and therefore not visible at noon); this is also true within the equivalent polar circle in the Northern Hemisphere , the Arctic Circle . The position of the Antarctic Circle is not fixed and currently runs 66°33′50.2″ south of the Equator . This figure may be slightly inaccurate because it does not allow for the effects of astronomical nutation , which can be up to 10″. Its latitude depends on

144-634: Is considered the first expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration . Among its members were Frederick Cook and Roald Amundsen , explorers who would later attempt the respective conquests of the North and South Poles. In 1896, after a period of intensive lobbying, Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery purchased the Norwegian-built whaling ship Patria , which, following an extensive refit , he renamed Belgica . Gerlache had worked together with

168-517: Is often no direct view of the true horizon. Mirages on the Antarctic continent tend to be even more spectacular than in Arctic regions, creating, for example, a series of apparent sunsets and sunrises while in reality the sun remains below the horizon. There is no permanent human population south of the Antarctic Circle, but there are several research stations in Antarctica operated by various nations that are inhabited by teams of scientists who rotate on

192-630: Is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth . The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic , and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone . South of the Antarctic Circle, the Sun is above the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year (and therefore visible at midnight) and the centre of the Sun (ignoring refraction)

216-505: The Arthur Harbour station in 1955 and a member of the sledging party which visited the point. Bay Point is first named on a chart based on a 1927 Discovery Investigations survey, but may reflect an earlier naming. Both Hooper Glacier and William Glacier flow into the bay from inland. Gateway Ridge separates them from one another. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of

240-549: The Geographical Society of Brussels to organize a national subscription, but was able to outfit his expedition only after the Belgian government voted in favor of two large subsidies, making it a state-supported undertaking. With a multinational crew that included Roald Amundsen from Norway, Emil Racoviță from Romania , and Henryk Arctowski from Poland , Belgica set sail from Antwerp on 16 August 1897. En route to

264-533: The United States Geological Survey . This Anvers Island location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Belgian Antarctic Expedition The Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899 was the first expedition to winter in the Antarctic region. Led by Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery aboard the RV Belgica , it was the first Belgian Antarctic expedition and

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288-446: The Antarctic, the expedition visited Madeira , Rio de Janeiro , and Montevideo . Belgica was received particularly enthusiastically in Rio, where a large Belgian community lived. Frederick Cook , an American, joined the expedition there. The Brazilians were also very interested in the Belgian scientific undertaking. The Historical and Geographical Society of Rio held a special meeting where

312-587: The Earth's axial tilt , which fluctuates within a margin of more than 2° over a 41,000-year period, due to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon . Consequently, the Antarctic Circle is currently drifting southwards at a speed of about 14.5 m (48 ft) per year. The Antarctic Circle is the northernmost latitude in the Southern Hemisphere at which the centre of the sun can remain continuously above

336-570: The Graham Land coast and a long string of islands to the west, Gerlache named the passage "Belgica Strait"; it was later renamed Gerlache Strait in his honor. After charting and naming several islands from some twenty separate landings, the expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle on 15 February. Failing to find a way into the Weddell Sea on 28 February, Gerlache's expedition became trapped in

360-415: The circumstances had been severe, the expedition had nevertheless managed to collect scientific data, including a full year of meteorological observations. In Antwerp, the return of the expedition was heartily welcomed. A special committee had been planning the festivities for months. Typical for polar expeditions in this age, feelings of national and regional pride surrounded the homecoming celebrations. On

384-484: The crew started to show signs of mental illness and morale in general was extremely poor. Lieutenant Danco fell ill from a heart condition and died on 5 June. Danco Island was named in his honor. Several men reportedly lost their sanity at this point, including one Belgian sailor who left the ship "announcing he was going back to Belgium." Cook and Amundsen took command as Gerlache and Lecointe were unable to fulfill their roles due to scurvy. The true cause of scurvy as

408-476: The darkness slowly advances." Several weeks later, on 17 May, the perpetual darkness of polar night set in, and lasted until 23 July. Gerlache disliked the penguin and seal meat that had been stored and initially tried to ban its consumption, but eventually encouraged it. Signs of scurvy began to show in some of the men. Gerlache and Captain Georges Lecointe became so ill they wrote their wills . Two of

432-610: The day they first set foot on Belgian soil again, La Brabançonne sounded and the national flag was seen waving from many houses. The Belgian state honored Gerlache and his men by making them members of the Royal Order of Leopold , and the municipal government of Antwerp honored the men with medals and by writing their names in the Golden Book of the city. The expedition team included many notable individuals: Personnel resigned or let go: Antarctic Circle The Antarctic Circle

456-517: The horizon for twenty-four hours; as a result, at least once each year at any location within the Antarctic Circle the centre of the sun is visible at local midnight , and at least once the centre of the sun is below the horizon at local noon. Directly on the Antarctic Circle these events occur, in principle, exactly once per year: at the December and June solstices , respectively. However, because of atmospheric refraction and mirages , and because

480-506: The ice of the Bellingshausen Sea , near Peter I Island . It is likely that Gerlache intentionally sailed deep into the pack ice in order to freeze his vessel into the ice for the winter. Despite the crew's efforts to free Belgica , they quickly realised that they would be trapped for the duration of the Antarctic winter. The Belgica expedition was poorly equipped and did not have enough winter clothing for every man on board. There

504-421: The open water to allow Belgica to escape the ice. The weakened crew used the explosive tonite and various tools to create the channel. Finally, on 15 February, they managed to start slowly down the channel they had cleared during the weeks before. It took them nearly a month to cover seven miles (11 km) and, on 14 March, they cleared the ice. The expedition returned to Antwerp on 5 November 1899. Though

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528-475: The scientists and officers of the expedition were offered membership. A few weeks later, in Montevideo, Amundsen wrote in his diary that he had never seen so many beautiful women "in one place at the same time". During January 1898, Belgica reached the coast of Graham Land . On 22 January, Carl Wiencke was washed overboard during a storm and drowned. Wiencke Island was named in his honor. Sailing in between

552-463: The sun appears as a disk and not a point, part of the midnight sun may be seen on the night of the southern summer solstice up to about 50 minutes (′) (90 km (56 mi)) north of the Antarctic Circle; similarly, on the day of the southern winter solstice , part of the sun may be seen up to about 50′ south of the Antarctic Circle. That is true at sea level; those limits increase with elevation above sea level, although in mountainous regions there

576-425: Was a shortage of food, and what there was lacked in variety. Penguins and seals were hunted and their meat stored before the onset of winter left the region devoid of wildlife. Warm clothing was improvised from the materials available. On 21 March 1898, Cook wrote: "We are imprisoned in an endless sea of ice ... We have told all the tales, real and imaginative, to which we are equal. Time weighs heavily upon us as

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