McMurdo, Crary Lab center left, slope of Ob Hill in background. Photo taken in November 2003.
Click on image for full size
Image has been released into public domain (found on wikipedia.org).
Exploration of the Poles of the Earth
Polar exploration includes the physical exploration of the Arctic and the Antarctica
. The Arctic
is the area around the Earth's north pole and includes parts of Canada, Greenland, Russia, the United States (Alaska), Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Arctic Ocean. In general, areas on Earth above the latitude of 66o
33' N are considered part of the Arctic region (this line of latitude is often referred to as the Arctic circle). Antarctica is a bit more easily characterized as the southernmost continent or everything south of the Antarctic circle (66o
33' S in latitude).
Humankind has always been driven to explore the unknown. Because of their extreme weather and dangerous oceans to cross, historically, the polar regions of the Earth proved to be hard places to reach. Though exploration of these regions has been going on since B.C. times, it wasn't until the last 100 years that many remote places were reached. Obviously, much exploration and study is yet to be done as permanent living stations and expeditions continue into the 21st century.
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