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| As amazing it may be, the many explorers did not
venture much past the South Shetland Islands for several years after
their discovery. This was because most of the vistitors to this part
of the world were sealers. Whaling did not really take off until the
end of the 19th century when the harpoon gun was invented. Now the
islands of the South Shetlands are littered with the remains of the
whaling and sealing days. |
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Neptune's Bellows
Deception Island
Gateway to an active volcano... Neptune's Bellows is the about
400m wide break in the crater walls of Deception Island. It is not
wide to begin with, but a submerged rock in the middle has destroyed
many a ship, and making it even more treacherous for ships to enter
this caldera. The rusting remains of the wreck of the Southern
Hunter, a British Whaling ship avoiding the Argentinean navy
in 1957 lies just inside the southern side of Neptune's Bellows.
Although a very popular (almost mandatory!) stop for most Antarctic
Cruise ships, it is still possible for ships to become trapped inside
or unable to enter due to strong winds being funneled through the
bellows.
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Whalers Bay
Deception Island
Aptly named, Whalers Bay is dominated by a collapsing whaling station
and numerous bones lie partially submerged in the volcanic cinder.
From 1906, the Norwegian-Chilean whaling factory ship, Gobernador
Bories used the bay as a base and when the British claimed the
island in 1908, the Norwegians leased the land for 21 years. During
WWII, the British used the whaling station as a base until a volcanic
eruption forced evacuation in 1967. The base was permanently abandoned
in 1969 after a few more eruptions.
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Mossy slopes
Jorge Island, Aitcho Islands
Vegetation is very rare in the icey polar conditions, but the largest
of the Aitcho Islands has a generous blanket of thick green cushiony
moss. It is very important no one walks on this moss as it can take
several decades to recover from human footprints.
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Larsen's hut
Paulet Island
Ok, this isn't a part of the South Shetland Islands, but this tiny
volcanic island lying on the eastern side of the northern tip of
the Antarctic Peninsula played its part in the great Explorer era
in Antarctica. During the unplanned extended stay of the Norkenskjold
Expedition in the winter of 1902/1903, the remains of the the hut
built by Captain Larsen and the remaining men from the Antarctic
built this tiny hut for 23(?) men. Only one died that winter, from
natural causes.
I recommend people look up the tale of Norkenskjold's expedition
- it makes for an entertaining read and higlights the problems of
launching expeditions in such an inhospitable environment before
the advent of modern shipping and luxuries.
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