Terra Nova expedition
Robert Falcon Scott · 1910 CE – 1912 CE · Earth
Reach the South Pole for Britain.
Historical context
Scott's expedition combined science with a bid for the pole, and its fate became a national tragedy. The diaries found in the tent fixed its place in memory.
The voyage, step by step
Base at Cape Evans
1911 CE
Scott's Terra Nova expedition establishes its base on Ross Island.
Laying One Ton Depot
1911 CE
The autumn depot journey stops thirty miles short of its target because the ponies are failing.
Across the Barrier
1911 CE
Four hundred miles of floating ice shelf, crossed on foot in soft snow and thick weather.
Up the Beardmore Glacier
1911 CE
The polar party hauls supplies up the great glacier to the plateau.
The last party turns back
4 January 1912
On 4 January Scott sends the support team home and takes five men on instead of the four he had planned for.
The pole — and Amundsen's flag
17 January 1912
On 17 January 1912 they reach the pole to find Amundsen had arrived five weeks earlier.
Eleven miles short
19 March 1912
A nine-day blizzard pins the last three men in their tent within reach of the depot.
Outcome
Reached the pole second and died on the return.
Robert Falcon Scott
British naval officer who reached the South Pole in 1912, only to find Amundsen had beaten him, and died on the return.
Sources
Continue exploring
- South Pole expeditionRoald Amundsen · 1910 CE – 1911 CE
- North Pole expeditionMatthew Henson · 1908 CE – 1909 CE
- North Pole attemptRobert Peary · 1908 CE – 1909 CE
- Damascus to Ha’il and BaghdadGertrude Bell · 1913 CE – 1914 CE