AMERICAN MUSEUM GUIDE LEAEIETS 



140th meridian at about the same time. The American 

 and French expeditions met each other near this point. 

 The course of Wilkes, as he returned from the Antarctic, 

 will be found to cross the 60th parallel near the meridian 

 of ioo° E. 



JAMES CLARK ROSS, 1839-1843 



Erebus and Terror 



[The course is indicated by a purple line.] 



James Clark Ross, a nephew of Sir John Ross, the 

 Arctic explorer, and one who had had several years of Arctic 

 experience (indeed it was he who in 1831 had sledged to 

 the North Magnetic Pole and planted there the British flag), 

 left Tasmania in 1840 in command of the Erebus and Terror. 

 The primary object of the expedition was to make certain 

 magnetic explorations in the extreme south. In less than 

 five months Ross returned to report the extraordinary 

 results of his expedition. 



Fully informed concerning the discoveries of Wilkes, he 

 determined to seek high latitudes to the east of the Balleny 

 Islands, and with little difficulty sailed into a new sea and 

 discovered land extending from Cape Adare to the vol- 

 canoes of Erebus and Terror, jj° S., — a distance north and 

 south of approximately 400 miles. He thus reached a 

 point considerably farther south than that attained by any 

 previous explorer. These discoveries, taken conjointly with 

 those of Wilkes, indicated the probability of the existence 

 of a large polar land mass. 



Ross plotted a part of the shore line of that portion 

 of the Antarctic Continent now known as Victoria Land. 

 Returning, he crossed the Antarctic Circle near the meri- 

 dian of 1 70° W. His course leaves the area of this map at 

 140 W., reenters it at 130° W., again passes out to the 



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