Without the Russian discoverers, the world map would be completely different. Our compatriots - travelers and seafarers - have made discoveries that have enriched world science. The eight most noticeable are in our material.

Bellingshausen's first Antarctic expedition

In 1819, the navigator, captain of the 2nd rank, Thaddeus Bellingshausen led the first Antarctic round-the-world expedition. The purpose of the voyage was to explore the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, as well as to prove or disprove the existence of the sixth continent - Antarctica. Having equipped two sloops - "Mirny" and "Vostok" (under command), Bellingshausen's detachment went to sea.

The expedition lasted 751 days and wrote many bright pages in the history of geographical discoveries. The main one - - was made on January 28, 1820.

By the way, attempts to open the white continent were made earlier, but did not bring the desired success: they lacked a little luck, or, perhaps, Russian tenacity.

So, the navigator James Cook, summing up the results of his second voyage around the world, wrote: "I went around the ocean of the southern hemisphere at high latitudes and rejected the possibility of the existence of a continent, which, if it can be discovered, then only near the pole in places inaccessible for navigation."

During Bellingshausen's Antarctic expedition, more than 20 islands were discovered and mapped, sketches of Antarctic species and animals living on it were made, and the navigator himself went down in history as a great discoverer.

“The name Bellingshausen can be directly put alongside the names of Columbus and Magellan, with the names of those people who did not retreat before the difficulties and imaginary impossibilities created by their predecessors, with the names of people who followed their own independent path, and therefore were the destroyers of obstacles to discoveries, which designate epochs, "wrote the German geographer August Petermann.

Discovery of Semyonov Tien Shansky

Central Asia in early XIX century was one of the least explored areas of the globe. An undeniable contribution to the study of the "unknown land" - as geographers called Central Asia - was made by Peter Semyonov.

In 1856, the main dream of the explorer came true - he went on an expedition to the Tien Shan.

“My works on Asian geography led me to a thorough acquaintance with everything that was known about inner Asia. Beckoned me in particular to itself the most central of the Asian mountain ranges - the Tien Shan, which had not yet been set foot by a European traveler and which was known only from scant Chinese sources.

Semenov's research in Central Asia lasted two years. During this time, the sources of the Chu, Syrdarya and Sary-Jaz rivers, the Khan-Tengri peaks and others were mapped.

The traveler established the location of the Tien Shan ridges, the height of the snow line in this area and discovered the huge Tien Shan glaciers.

In 1906, by decree of the emperor, for the merits of the discoverer, the prefix was added to his surname - Tien Shansky.

Asia Przewalski

In the 70's and 80's. XIX century Nikolai Przhevalsky led four expeditions to Central Asia. This little-studied area has always attracted the explorer, and a trip to Central Asia was his old dream.

Over the years of research, mountain systems have been studied Kun-Lun , ridges of Northern Tibet, the sources of the Yellow River and Yangtze, basins Kuku-nora and Lob-nora.

Przewalski was the second person after Marco Polo to reach lakes-swamps Lob-nora!

In addition, the traveler discovered dozens of species of plants and animals that are named after him.

“Happy fate made it possible to carry out a feasible study of the least known and most inaccessible countries of inner Asia,” Nikolai Przhevalsky wrote in his diary.

Around the world of Kruzenshtern

The names of Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky became known after the first Russian round-the-world expedition.

For three years, from 1803 to 1806. - that is how long the first circumnavigation lasted - the ships "Nadezhda" and "Neva", passing through the Atlantic Ocean, rounded Cape Horn, and then by waters The Pacific reached Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. The expedition refined the map of the Pacific Ocean, collected information about the nature and inhabitants of Kamchatka and the Kuriles.

During the voyage, Russian sailors crossed the equator for the first time. Celebrated this event, according to tradition, with the participation of Neptune.

The sailor, dressed in the lord of the seas, asked Kruzenstern why he had arrived here with his ships, because the Russian flag had not been seen in these places before. To which the commander of the expedition replied: "For the glory of science and our fatherland!"

Expedition of Nevelskoy

Admiral Gennady Nevelskoy is rightfully considered one of the outstanding navigators of the 19th century. In 1849, on the transport ship "Baikal", he went on an expedition to Far East.

The Amur expedition lasted until 1855, during which time Nevelskoy made several major discoveries in the lower reaches of the Amur and the northern shores of the Sea of ​​Japan, annexed huge areas of the Amur and Primorye to Russia.

Thanks to the navigator, it became known that Sakhalin is an island, which is separated by the navigable Tatar Strait, and the mouth of the Amur is accessible for ships to enter from the sea.

In 1850, a detachment of Nevelskoy founded the Nikolaev post, which today is known as Nikolaevsk-on-Amur.

“The discoveries made by Nevelskoy are invaluable for Russia,” wrote Count Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky - many previous expeditions to these lands could achieve European glory, but none of them achieved domestic benefits, at least to the extent that Nevelskoy did it. "

Vilkitsky North

The purpose of the hydrographic expedition of the Arctic Ocean in 1910-1915. was the development of the Northern Sea Route. By chance, the captain of the 2nd rank Boris Vilkitsky took over the duties of the head of the voyage. Icebreaking ships "Taimyr" and "Vaygach" went to sea.

Vilkitsky moved along the northern water area from east to west, and during the voyage he managed to compose a true description of the northern coast Eastern Siberia and many islands, received the most important information about currents and climate, and also became the first who made a through voyage from Vladivostok to Arkhangelsk.

The expedition members discovered the Land of Emperor Nicholas I. I., known today as New earth- This discovery is considered the last significant on the globe.

In addition, thanks to Vilkitsky, the islands of Maly Taimyr, Starokadomsky and Zhokhov were mapped.

At the end of the expedition, the First World War... The traveler Roald Amundsen, having learned about the success of Vilkitsky's voyage, could not resist exclaiming to him:

"In time of peace, this expedition would excite the whole world!"

Kamchatka campaign of Bering and Chirikov

The second quarter of the 18th century was rich in geographical discoveries... All of them were made during the First and Second Kamchatka expeditions, which immortalized the names of Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov.

During the First Kamchatka Campaign, Bering, the leader of the expedition and his assistant, Chirikov, explored and mapped the Pacific coast of Kamchatka and Northeast Asia. They discovered two peninsulas - Kamchatsky and Ozerny, Kamchatsky Bay, Karaginsky Bay, Cross Bay, Providence Bay and St. Lawrence Island, as well as the strait, which today bears the name of Vitus Bering.

Companions - Bering and Chirikov - also led the Second Kamchatka Expedition. The goal of the campaign was to find a way to North America and explore the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

In Avacha Bay, the expedition members laid the foundation for the Petropavlovsk prison - in honor of the ships of navigation "St. Peter" and "St. Paul" - which was later renamed Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

When the ships sailed to the shores of America, by the will of evil fate, Bering and Chirikov began to act alone - because of the fog, their ships lost each other.

"St. Peter" under the leadership of Bering reached the western coast of America.

And on the way back, the members of the expedition, who had a lot of difficulties, were thrown into a small island by a storm. Here Vitus Bering's life ended, and the island where the expedition members stopped for the winter was named after Bering.
"St. Paul" Chirikov also reached the shores of America, but for him the voyage ended more safely - on the way back, he discovered a number of islands in the Aleutian ridge and safely returned to the Peter and Paul prison.

Ivan Moskvitin's "Tumbling Lands"

Little is known about the life of Ivan Moskvitin, but this man still went down in history, and the reason for this is the new lands he discovered.

In 1639, Moskvitin, leading a detachment of Cossacks, set sail for the Far East. The main goal of the travelers was "to find new unseasoned land", to collect furs and fish. The Cossacks overcame the Aldan, Mayu and Yudomu rivers, discovered the Dzhugdzhur ridge, which separates the rivers of the Lena basin from the rivers flowing into the sea, and along the Ulya river entered the "Lamskoye" or Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Having explored the coast, the Cossacks discovered the Tauiskaya Bay and entered the Sakhalin Bay, circling the Shantar Islands.

One of the Cossacks said that the rivers in the open lands "are sable, there are many animals, and fish, and the fish is big, there is no such fish in Siberia ... there are so many of them - just run the seine and you can't drag the fish out ...".

The geographical data collected by Ivan Moskvitin formed the basis of the first map of the Far East.

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Italian traveler Marco Polo (1254-1324). In 1271-75 he traveled to China, where he lived approx. 17 years. In 1292-95 he returned to Italy by sea. The "Book" (1298), written from his words, is one of the first sources of knowledge of Europeans about the countries of Central, East. and Yuzh. Asia.

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This is a period in human history that began in the 15th century and lasted until the 17th century, during which Europeans discovered new lands and sea routes to Africa, America, Asia and Oceania in search of new trading partners and sources of goods that were in great demand in Europe. Historians usually correlate the "Great Geographical Discoveries" with the pioneering long-distance sea voyages of Portuguese and Spanish travelers in search of alternative trade routes in "India" for gold, silver and spices.

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He was the first known traveler to cross the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean. He laid the foundation for the discovery of the mainland of South America. He discovered all the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, etc.), the Lesser Antilles and about. Trinidad. In his first expedition, he equipped 3 ships: "Santa Maria", "Pinta", "Niña". In total, Columbus made 4 trips to America. Named in honor of Columbus: State in South America- Colombia Mount Cristobal Colon in Colombia. Federal district Colombia in the United States. Columbia River in the USA and Canada. Cities in the USA Columbus and Columbia. Streets in Volgograd and Astrakhan, squares in New York and Zelenogad. thin John Vanderline. The landing of Columbus in America.

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Columbus can be called the discoverer of America with reservations. Even in the Middle Ages, Icelandic Vikings visited North America, but nothing was known about this outside Scandinavia. It was Columbus's expeditions that made information about America public domain. The first island from the Bahamas was discovered on October 12, 1492. Columbus' four expeditions map. Queen Isabella of Castile and Columbus Columbus monument in Bremerhaven, Germany Replica of the ship "Santa Maria".

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Florentine traveler. It is believed that he received this nickname or named himself so in honor of the already named continent. As a navigator, he took part in expeditions to new lands in 1499 using the maps of Columbus, and gave them the name Venezuela - Little Venice, discovered the Amazon delta and mapped 22 objects. In 1500 -1504 he made two more trips from Portugal to the lands of the new continent. From 1505 he served as helmsman in the Spanish service for travel to India. According to legend, Christopher Columbus believed until the end of his days that he opened a new path to India. But soon the opinion spread that it was not India that was discovered, but a new continent. One of the first supporters of this version was Amerigo Vespucci, whose name the new part of the world acquired. It is believed that the very term "new world" could have been proposed in 1503 by the same Vespucci, but this opinion is disputed.

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Participated in the energy of the second and third expeditions of Columbus, maintained friendly relations with him. According to the stories of his contemporaries, Amerigo was an exceptionally fair, intelligent and observant person. He had the talent of a writer, quite often he exaggerated, talking about the nature and people of the new lands, but never talk about the chiefs of expeditions and about your role in these expeditions. In honor of Amerigo Vespucci was named: Three-deck training frigate, launched in February 1931 in Naples. Airport in Italian city Florence. Main street in the city of Lima, the capital of Chile. A bridge thrown over the Arno River in the Italian city of Florence. A section of the embankment of the Arno River in Florence. AMERICUS VESPUCHIUS

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Portuguese navigator, known as the first European to sail to India. On July 8, 1497, 4 ships left Lisbon: 2 large three-masted ships "San Gabriel" (flagship) and "San Rafael", a light caravel "Berriu" and a transport ship for transporting supplies. The best maps and navigational instruments were at hand. Named after a Brazilian football club. Named a city in Goa. The longest bridge in Europe in Lisbon. The Adidas soccer sword is named after the ship's magazine. Monument to Vasco da Gamma in front of the church in Sines.

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Only 5 years before his death, da Gamma received land holdings and the title of count. Only 2 ships returned after the expedition in September 1499. Nevertheless, from a financial point of view, the expedition was unusually successful - the proceeds of goods brought from India were 60 times higher than the costs of the expedition. Padran - a stone pillar with the image of the royal coat of arms of Portugal and an inscription - was placed as a sign of the transfer of territory under the control of Portugal. Padran at the Cape of Good Hope.

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English sailor, explorer, cartographer, Fellow of the Royal Society. He headed three expeditions to explore the World Ocean, all were around the world. Surveyed and mapped the east coast of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. On February 14, 1779, he was killed by the inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands. After the military operation, some parts of Kuku's body were returned by the natives and buried at sea. 1st expedition - vessel "Endeavor" 2nd expedition - 2 vessels "Resolution" and "Adventure" 3rd expedition - 2 vessels "Resolution" and "Discovery" In honor of Cook named: The strait between the islands of New Zealand. Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Mountain on the islands of New Zealand. Cooktown in Australia. Bay off the coast of Alaska. In honor of "Endeavor" was named Module spaceship Apollo 12.

To these brave men, mankind owes not only interesting information, but also scientific discoveries.

And in the times that we call "prehistoric", there were people who could not sit still, who strove there, beyond the horizon. They set off into complete obscurity, lacking worthy Vehicle and ways of protection, thinking not about yourself, but about the great goal that we set and eventually achieved.

Hannon - 505 BC

Carthaginian (resident of the state of Carthage, located on the territory of modern Tunisia - approx. ed.) Gannon considered the very first of all famous travelers. The Carthaginian Senate equipped 60 galleys, each of which had 50 rowers. This fleet was to make a risky expedition - to reach the western shores of Africa and colonize the land. The expedition was headed by Gannon. In total, thirty thousand people went on a journey - today they would be called immigrants: their mission was to develop new lands.

Sailing across the Atlantic Ocean was incredibly dangerous back then. Nevertheless, Gannon and his companions, having overcome all obstacles on the way, reached the shores of West Africa. On one of the islands (apparently belonging to the group of the Canary Islands), travelers found many gorillas and took them for "wild people." Hoping to establish contact, the Carthaginians took three "savages" prisoner, but soon they had to be killed due to the aggressiveness of the gorillas.

On other islands, the Carthaginians made friendly and trade unions With local residents... Having reached the South Horn, the travelers realized that they risked being left without supplies - they were running out. Then Gannon decided to return home. In Carthage, in the temple of Moloch, a large marble slab was erected in memory of this journey, on which a description of the great journey was carved.

Herodotus (484 - 425 BC)

Ancient Greek scientist - historian and geographer, Herodotus became famous as the "father of history", and also as one of the first travelers. He compiled the first more or less accurate description the real world for their contemporaries - based on their own observations and on the stories of other people.

To obtain the information necessary to write his most famous work - "History" - Herodotus traveled all the countries available at that time. He visited Greece and Egypt, Persia and Babylonia, Asia Minor and Southern Italy, on islands Mediterranean Sea and in the Crimea.

Herodotus began to travel at about 20 years old, and his goal was precisely science - he sought to collect as much information as possible about the events taking place, about the peoples inhabiting different lands. His first journey resulted in a major study of those peoples that at that time were not yet known to the Greeks. Herodotus wrote in his writings about the Greco-Persian wars, about the manners and customs of the Persians.

He was the first to describe Scythia and the peoples inhabiting this country, gave a complete description of the Istra (Danube) River, which flows through all of Europe, and Borisfena (Dnieper). In the writings of Herodotus, much attention is paid to Scythian myths - for example, about Hercules... He also writes about the Amazons - women warriors.

Later, Herodotus visited Northeast Africa, in Cyrene, the first in history to describe these territories. Very interesting information Herodotus collected about Egypt, and modern scholars for the most part confirm the correctness of his descriptions.

Pytheas (340 BC)

Tragedy Pythea lies in the fact that his stories about distant countries aroused mistrust and ridicule among his contemporaries. But his courage deserves respect - he dared to embark on a dangerous voyage across the Atlantic on a single ship. The Pytheas expedition headed to the North - they hoped to find tin and amber in uncharted lands. Such an order was given to Pytheas by his fellow merchants from the city of Massilia (Marseille). Pytheas did an excellent job with the assignment, while making several important geographical discoveries.

For example, moving northward, he noticed that the further to the northern latitudes, the longer the day becomes. This established the relationship between the length of day and night and latitude. In addition, he was the first to guess that the ebb and flow are associated with the attraction of the moon. Pytheas discovered that the Pole Star could not serve as an exact reference point to the north. All these and other discoveries he was able to make thanks to his travels.

Eudox (IIcentury BC)

Greek scientist-geographer Eudox began his travels with visits to Egypt and India.

Having hired a large ship and two launches, Eudoxus sailed on the waters of the Atlantic. It is unknown how far he made his way. Scientists are wary of overly trusting his evidence because there is no credible evidence. However, it is known for sure that by order of the pharaoh Ptolemy Eudoxus visited India, sailing there, accompanied by an Indian guide. This was followed by a second trip to India - Eudoxus was sent there by the queen Cleopatra, for him to bring Indian incense.

Having decided to go around Africa, the brave traveler almost carried out a dizzying plan, but died at the very end of the journey.

Strabo (64/63 BC - 23/24 AD)

Ancient Greek traveler and geographer Strabo was known for his comprehensive education. He left behind an amazing work - "Geography" in 17 volumes, which contained the most detailed and varied information about many countries and peoples. The chapters on the Trans-Caspian lands, on Asian Scythia, on the Caucasus are relevant and interesting today.

Strabo traveled extensively. Repeatedly visited Egypt and made a detailed description of Alexandria, described Pyramids of Egypt, talked a lot about the wonders of the world.

Strabo lived a long life and died in Rome. His "Geography" is the most important and most interesting monument of ancient Greek science.

Geographical discoveries

People have traveled and made discoveries at all times, but during the history of mankind there was a period when the number of travelers and their discoveries increased dramatically - the era of the great geographical discoveries.

Great geographical discoveries - a period in the history of mankind, which began in the 15th century and lasted until the 17th century, during which new lands and sea routes were discovered. Thanks to the bold expeditions of sailors and travelers from many countries, it was discovered and explored most of the earth's surface, seas and oceans that wash it. The most important sea routes were laid, connecting the continents with each other.

Adygea, Crimea. Mountains, waterfalls, herbs of alpine meadows, healing mountain air, absolute silence, snowfields in the middle of summer, the murmur of mountain streams and rivers, stunning landscapes, songs by the fires, the spirit of romance and adventure, the wind of freedom await you! And at the end of the route there are gentle waves of the Black Sea.

Mankind gradually mastered the surface of the Earth. It cost him great sacrifices, but neither the harsh nature, nor the warlike tribes, nor the disease could already reverse this process.

The great silk road

Until the 2nd century BC. the path from Europe to Asia ended at the spurs of the Tien Shan, which hid the civilization of China. Everything was changed by the visit of the Chinese ambassador Zhang Qian to Central Asia, who was amazed at the unprecedented wealth of these lands in his country.

Gradually, small sections of trade roads were combined into a gigantic highway 12 thousand kilometers long, linking East and West. However, one should not consider the Great Silk Road as a single route.

When approaching Dunhua - a city on the outskirts of the Great Wall of China - the path forks, bordering the Taklamakan desert from the server and south. North road went to the valley of the Ili river, and the southern one led to Bactria (northern Afghanistan). Here the South Road again diverged into two directions: one went to India, the other to the West - to Iraq and Syria.

The Great Silk Road is not a journey of people, but of goods that passed through many hands before reaching the buyer. Silk, due to its lightness, high cost and great demand, was an ideal commodity for long-distance transportation. At the final destination of the Silk Road - Rome - the price of this fabric was three times the price of gold.

Empires appeared and disappeared, establishing their control over the transit of wealthy caravans, but the arteries of the Great Silk Road continued to feed the markets of the largest continent.

In the middle of the XIV century, along with goods along the Great Silk Road, death flowed. An epidemic of bubonic plague from the depths of the Gobi, paved the way with corpses and caravan routes, reached Europe.

The Cambridge Encyclopedia sums up a terrible result: about 60 million people or 25% of the world's population - this is the number of victims of a deadly epidemic, such is the price of trade relations between Europe and Asia.

Greenland

The most remarkable thing in this story is that the largest island on the planet was discovered by a fugitive criminal - Eirik, nicknamed the Red. The Norwegian Viking got tired of the Icelandic exile and in 982 he sailed with his fellow tribesmen to the west. Eirik called the discovered land Greenland ("Green Country"), not because of the riot of vegetation: he believed that if the island had a good name, people would be drawn there.

Eirik managed to persuade some of the Icelanders to move to the Green Country. In 985, a flotilla of 25 ships sailed to the coast of Greenland. They sailed with whole families, with belongings, utensils and even livestock.

It was the triumph of Red Eirik: from a hunted outcast, he turned into a master of vast possessions.

The first settlers of Greenland found abandoned homes on its east coast. Most likely, they belonged to the indigenous population of the island - the ancestors of the modern Inuit, who for unknown reasons left their habitats.

The arrangement of life was not easy given by the Vikings. In order to have the necessary minimum, they had to enter into trade relations with Europe: bread and Construction Materials, and in return were sent a whalebone and skins of sea animals.

However, by the end of the XIV century, the colonies fell into decay - almost all of their population died out. Perhaps the reason for this was Small ice Age, which created unbearable conditions for life on the island.

Greenland eventually became a springboard for the further advance of the Vikings to the west. After the death of Eirik the Red, his sons dared to sail to the ends of the Earth and reached the shores of America.

The last written record of the Greenland Vikings dates back to 1408. It tells the story of a wedding in Hwalsi Church. The ruins of this church have survived to this day, as a monument to the dedication of the first European conquerors of the impregnable North.

West coast of africa

From the beginning of the 15th century, Portuguese sailors intensified their exploration of the west coast of Africa. In the midst of the Reconquista, the kings of Portugal needed new sources of fame and fortune.

But there was another reason - Turkish rule in the Eastern Mediterranean, which blocked the traditional merchant routes to Asia.

To understand the complexity and significance of the expeditions undertaken by the Portuguese along the West African coast, it should be remembered that not a single European had ever crossed the equator by that time.

Moreover, Europe continued to live on the notions of Ptolemaic geography, according to which the inhabited world ended in an ocean washing the western outskirts of Africa. In 1482, Diogo Kan crossed the equator and reached the mouth of the Congo River, simultaneously refuting Ptolemy's hypothesis about the impassability of the tropics.

On the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, Portuguese sailors found what they set out on such a long journey for - large deposits of gold. The news about the found gold spread quickly and already Spanish, British, Dutch businessmen are sailing here to organize mines in the hope of getting fabulous profits.

In 1442, black men and women were brought to Lisbon. This was the delivery of the first batch of African slaves. From now on, "black gold" is becoming the most popular commodity, first in the European and later in the American market.

Along with this, a new phenomenon for humanity is emerging on the Cape Verde Islands - a mixture of Europeans and Africans. This is how the Creoles appeared. According to historians, this is due to a banal reason - the almost complete absence of white women in the Portuguese colonies.

America

Instead of answering many questions, the discovery of America seems to have puzzled the Europeans even more: the inhabited world was not pumped here, but continued further to the West - into a frightening unknown. Nevertheless, the pioneers too self-confidently began to master the alien environment, irrevocably upsetting the natural and cultural balance of both continents.

Thanks to the "Columbus Exchange" (a term by Alfred Crosby), animals, crops, technologies and diseases migrated to a much greater extent in the western direction, radically changing the appearance of the New World. One of the diseases - malaria - was destined to affect the geopolitical map of North America.

Malaria was introduced to New World together with African slaves, but since the latter had immunity to infection, it was mainly Europeans who died of the disease. The zone of distribution of carriers of the disease - malaria mosquitoes - humid tropics. As a result, it formed a conditional geographic line, above which mosquitoes did not breed.

To the south of this line were the slave states, and to the north were slave-free territories, where mainly European settlers were sent. Today, this line almost coincides with the so-called Mason-Dixon Line, which separates Pennsylvania from the states of West Virginia and Maryland located to the south.

The development of vast territories of the New World allowed Europe to cope with the overpopulation problem that threatened it in the future. However, the expansion of Europeans on both American continents led to the largest humanitarian and demographic catastrophe in the history of mankind.

The Indian Reservation Act, which appeared in the United States in 1867, was only a formal step towards the preservation of Aboriginal people. Indians were often sent to places completely unsuitable for farming. A number of Native American organizations claim that from 1500 to 1900 indigenous population America dropped from 15 million to 237 thousand people.

Antarctica

Antarctica, like an alluring and at the same time repulsive forbidden fruit, slowly and gradually let the navigators approach it. Dirk Geeritz in 1559 reaches 64 ° S. lat., James Cook in 1773 - 67 ° 5 ′ S. sh. Caught among icebergs near Tierra del Fuego, the English navigator declares that there is no Southern continent.

For almost half a century, Cook's skepticism discouraged the search for the sixth continent. But in 1820 Bellingshausen and Lazarev manage to reach 69 ° 21 ′ S. sh. - now such a cherished land is at a cannon-shot distance. Only the Norwegian expedition of Carsten Borchgrevink in 1895 made the first recorded landing on the southern continent.

According to the "Antarctica Treaty" signed in 1959, only 7 states declare claims to certain sectors of the continent - Great Britain, Norway, France, Chile, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand... But everyone has different territorial appetites.

If France claims a narrow strip of land - the Adélie Land, occupying 432,000 km², Australia counts on almost half of the area of ​​Antarctica. At the same time, Chile, New Zealand, Great Britain and Argentina dispute practically the same territory.

Each of the countries is trying to look to the future of the southern continent. The British, for example, are serious about developing the Antarctic shelf rich in hydrocarbons. It is possible that Antarctica may be populated in the near future. Already today because of global warming tundra begins to form on the most distant land areas from the Pole, and after 100 years, scientists predict the appearance of trees here.