The exploration of the Antarctica includes:
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The history of Antarctica emerges from early Western theories of a vast continent, known as Terra Australis, believed to exist in the far south of the globe. The term Antarctic, referring to the opposite of the Arctic Circle, was coined by Marinus of Tyre in the 2nd century AD.
Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Marie Byrd Land is the portion of West Antarctica lying east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and south of the Pacific Ocean, extending eastward approximately to a line between the head of the Ross Ice Shelf and Eights Coast. It stretches between 158°W and 103°24'W. The inclusion of the area between the Rockefeller Plateau and Eights Coast is based upon the leading role of the American Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd in the exploration of this area. The name was originally applied by Admiral Byrd in 1929, in honor of his wife, to the northwestern part of the area, the part that was explored in that year.
Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee and the US Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names, in which the name "Antarctic Peninsula" was approved for the major peninsula of Antarctica, and the names Graham Land and Palmer Land for the northern and southern portions, respectively. The line dividing them is roughly 69 degrees south.
A British expedition to Graham Land led by John Lachlan Cope took place between 1920 and 1922.
West Antarctica, or Lesser Antarctica, one of the two major regions of Antarctica, is the part of that continent that lies within the Western Hemisphere, and includes the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from East Antarctica by the Transantarctic Mountains and is covered by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. It lies between the Ross Sea, and the Weddell Sea. It may be considered a giant peninsula stretching from the South Pole towards the tip of South America.
East Antarctica, also called Greater Antarctica, constitutes the majority (two-thirds) of the Antarctic continent, lying on the Indian Ocean side of the continent, separated from West Antarctica by the Transantarctic Mountains. It lies almost entirely within the Eastern Hemisphere and its name has been accepted for more than a century. It is generally higher than West Antarctica and includes the Gamburtsev Mountain Range in the centre.
A number of governments have set up permanent research stations in Antarctica and these bases are widely distributed. Unlike the drifting ice stations set up in the Arctic, the research stations of the Antarctic are constructed either on rock or on ice that is fixed in place.
The Antarctic Place-names Commission was established by the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute in 1994, and since 2001 has been a body affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.
The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration was an era in the exploration of the continent of Antarctica which began at the end of the 19th century, and ended after the First World War; the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition of 1921–1922 is often cited by historians as the dividing line between the "Heroic" and "Mechanical" ages.
Letnitsa Glacier is a 0.9 nautical miles long glacier on Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica draining the southeast slopes of Imeon Range east of Organa Peak and south of Riggs Peak. It is situated southwest of Gramada Glacier and northeast of Kremena Ice Piedmont, and flows southeastward into Hisarya Cove, Osmar Strait. Bulgarian early mapping in 2009. The glacier is named after the town of Letnitsa in northern Bulgaria.
Gramada Glacier is a 1.6 nautical miles long glacier on Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica draining the southeast slopes of Imeon Range east of Riggs Peak, southeast of Madan Saddle and south of Neofit Peak. It is situated southwest of Armira Glacier and northeast of Letnitsa Glacier, and flows southeastward into Brashlyan Cove on Osmar Strait. Bulgarian early mapping in 2009. The glacier is named after the town of Gramada in northwestern Bulgaria.
Armira Glacier is a 1.6 nautical miles long glacier on Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica draining the southeast slopes of Imeon Range southeast of Slaveykov Peak and east of Neofit Peak. It is situated southwest of Dragoman Glacier and northeast of Gramada Glacier, and flows southeastward into Yarebitsa Cove on Osmar Strait. Bulgarian early mapping in 2009. The glacier is named after Armira River in southeastern Bulgaria.
Krivodol Glacier is a 3.8 km long glacier on Smith Island, South Shetland Islands in Antarctica draining the southeast slopes of Imeon Range northeast and east of Antim Peak, southeast of Varshets Saddle and south of Slatina Peak. It is situated southwest of Ovech Glacier and northeast of Pashuk Glacier, and flows southeastward into Osmar Strait northeast od Sredets Point. Bulgarian early mapping in 2008. The glacier is named after the town of Krivodol in northwestern Bulgaria.
Kongur Glacier is a 1.4 nautical miles long glacier draining the northwest slopes of Imeon Range on Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is situated northeast of Dalgopol Glacier and southwest of Saparevo Glacier, and flows west of Mount Christi into Drake Passage. Bulgarian early mapping in 2009. The glacier is named after the peak and nature reserve of Kongur on Belasitsa Mountain in southwestern Bulgaria.
Vetrino Glacier is a 3.2 km long glacier on the northwest side of Imeon Range on Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is situated northeast of Yablanitsa Glacier, southwest of Dalgopol Glacier and northwest of Ovech Glacier, drains the northwest slopes of Imeon Range north of Drinov Peak, northwest of Kostenets Saddle and west of Mount Pisgah, and flows northwestwards into Drake Passage both northeast and south of Gregory Point. The glacier is named after the town of Vetrino in northeastern Bulgaria.
Yablanitsa Glacier is a 1.8 km long glacier on Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is situated north-northeast of Chuprene Glacier, southwest of Vetrino Glacier and northwest of Ovech Glacier, and flows west of Drinov Peak into Cabut Cove. The feature is named after the town of Yablanitsa in northern Bulgaria.
Landreth Glacier is the steep 2.3 km long and 600 m wide glacier on the southeast side of Imeon Range, Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, which is draining southeastwards from Mount Foster between the side ridges separating it from Rupite Glacier to the north and Dragoman Glacier to the south, and flowing into Ivan Asen Cove on Bransfield Strait.
Piloto Pardo was a Chilean Navy auxiliary ship from 1959 until 1997. After decommissioning she was converted to an Antarctic expedition cruise ship and operated as such until 2012 under the name MV Antarctic Dream.
