Developing understanding

It is difficult to make a complete and detailed timeline of the major Antarctic expeditions as there have been over 300 of these since Antarctica was sighted for the first time. More details of the journeys below and some of the others can be found at www.south-pole.com.

View the timeline: Multimedia

Questions: What was the main purpose of each expedition - exploration, research or both? Have the objectives of these visits changed over time?

Useful links

More information about the bases can be found at Secretariat of the Antarctic treaty and the UK bases at United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust