The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration recognizes the physical and mental endurance required of expeditioners seeking the South Pole beginning in the late 1800s and concluding with Shackleton's 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. During this time, the continent of Antarctica was the focus of an international effort to better understand the region scientifically and geographically, and resulted in 17 major expeditions launched by 10 countries.
Thanks to the generous donation of 3D data from Geometria, CyArk now adds three Antarctic expedition huts to its digital archive: Discovery Hut, Scott's Hut, and Shakleton's Hut.
Discovery Hut, located at Hut Point on Ross Island by McMurdo Sound, was built by Captain Robert Falcon Scott during the Discovery Expedition of 1901-1904. With its square design, and verandas on three sides, Discovery Hut lacked proper insulation to keep out the cold. When the expedition party abandoned the hut, they left it richly supplied with rough stores (such as flour, cocoa, coffee, biscuits, and tinned meat), to provide temporary relief and support for a future expedition party.
Scott's Hut, built in 1911 at Cape Evans on Ross Island by Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his Terra Nova Expedition crew, was prefabricated in England before being brought south by ship. Insulated with seaweed sewn into quilt lining the inner and outer walls, Scott's Hut was noted for being "warm to the point of uncomfortable" by members of the Terra Nova crew. Scott's Hut was reused by Ernest Shackleton during his 1915-1917 Ross Sea Party.
Shackleton's Hut is located at Cape Royds, a small promontory 23 miles north of Hut Point, where the Discovery Hut was built. Made particularly famous in 2006 by the discovery of five crates of McKinlay and Co. whisky buried underneath the hut since it was abandoned in 1913.
Due to the consistent sub-freezing conditions, all three huts are extremely well preserved. CyArk looks forward to disseminating the 3D content for the Antarctic Exploration Huts on CyArk's website.
Loading