ANTARCTICA

The Arctic is not a continent because there is no land there at the North Pole, just a sheet of ice floating on water.  Antarctica, home of the South Pole, is that elusive seventh continent most people forget about. Just over one hundred years ago, there was a race to be the first to find the South Pole.

In 1907, Ernest Shackleton led the British Antarctic Nimrod Expedition in a first attempt to reach the pole.  Nimrod was the name of the ship they sailed.  It was a tri-masted sailing sloop just like the ones you see in movies about whaling or pirating.

Shackleton's crew never reached the Pole.  They hiked over mountainous terrain until their supplies ran out and returned in 1909.  They did a great deal of geographic work and were credited with making great strides in mapping the continent. 

One of the benefits of being the original discoverer of land is the naming rights.  The mountain range running across Antarctica is called the Queen Elizabeth Range.  A prominent mountain in that range was named by the Shackleton Expedition - they called it Mount Lysaght.  No kidding!  My family was famous in England and Australia.

Mt. Lysaght rises 12,320' above sea level.  You can go to Google Earth and see it or charter an expedition - pack your woollies. 
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