CAPTAIN COOK 7 



300 miles to the south of the land reported by Bouvet, 

 and thereby established the fact that the land in ques- 

 tion if it existed was not continuous with the great 

 southern continent. 



On January 17, 1773, the Antartic Circle was crossed 

 for the first time a memorable day in the annals of 

 Antarctic exploration. Shortly afterwards a solid pack 

 was encountered, and Cook was forced to return to the 

 north. A course was laid for the newly discovered 

 islands Kerguelen, Marion, and the Crozets and it 

 was proved that they had nothing to do with the great 

 southern land. In the course of his further voyages in 

 Antarctic waters Cook completed the most southerly 

 circumnavigation of the globe, and showed that there 

 was no connection between any of the lands or islands 

 that had been discovered and the great mysterious 

 "Antarctica." His highest latitude (January 30, 1774) 

 was 71 10' S. 



Cook's voyages had important commercial results, as 

 his reports of the enormous number of seals round South 

 Georgia brought many sealers, both English and Amer- 

 ican, to those waters, and these sealers, in turn, in- 

 creased the field of geographical discovery. 



In 1819 the discovery of the South Shetlands by the 

 Englishman, Captain William Smith, is to be recorded. 

 And this discovery led to that of the Palmer Archipelago 

 to the south of them. 



The next scientific expedition to the Antarctic regions 



