Antarctica 5
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©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Antarctic Peninsula W hy Go? Central Peninsula ...........72 The most accessible part of the continent, the beautiful Antarctic Peninsula extends a welcoming arm north toward Lemaire Channel ............ 78 South America’s Tierra del Fuego as if beckoning visitors. Southern Peninsula ....... 79 And intrepid travelers do come, for the Antarctic Peninsula, Northern Peninsula ........82 the warmest part of the continent (facetiously called the General Bernardo ‘Banana Belt’) is Antarctica’s major breeding ground for sea- O’Higgins Station ...........82 birds, seals and penguins. Astrolabe Island .............82 With its dramatic landscapes of steep snow-covered Hope Bay ........................82 peaks often plunging straight into the sea, and with nar- Joinville & D’Urville row iceberg-studded channels weaving between countless Islands ............................83 islands and the mountainous mainland, the Peninsula also Vega Island .....................84 offers some of Antarctica’s most stunning scenery. Halley Station .................87 In recent decades, tourist landings have concentrated on sites along the western coast of the central Peninsula; relatively few ships of any sort visit the Weddell Sea, on the Peninsula’s eastern side. It has, indeed, earned its reputation as an ice-choked ship-eater. Shackleton’s Endurance is only Best Historical the most famous example of the half-dozen vessels crushed there. Sights » Port Lockroy (p 75 ) » Detaille Island (p 79 ) Top Resources » Stonington Island (p 81 ) » Two Men in the Antarctic (1939), Thomas W Bagshawe. » Snow Hill Island (p 86 ) Gripping tale by one of two young men who wintered (alone on the continent) at Waterboat Point. Best Scenery » Swimming to Antarctica (2004), Lynne Cox. Fascinating autobiography by the Neko Harbor swimmer. » Lemaire Channel (p 78 ) » The Ferocious Summer (2008), Meredith Hooper. Global » Paradise Harbor (p 75 ) warming, penguins and the Peninsula. » Charlotte Bay (p 74 ) » The Crystal Desert (1992), David G Campbell. Ecologist’s » Cuverville Island (p 74 ) three summers studying the life of the Antarctic Peninsula. » Danco Island (p 74 ) » UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT; www.ukaht.org) Maintains sights on the Peninsula, including Port Lockroy. » Polar Times (www.americanpolar.org) 72 Antarctic 70ºW 65ºW Peninsula 0 100 km Highlights 0 50 miles 1 Photograph eye-popping scenery around the Lemaire Channel (p 78 ), Paradise Harbor (p 75 ) and Charlotte S O U T H E R N Bay (p 74 ) Listen to 200,000 O C E A N ANTARCTIC PENINSULA PENINSULA ANTARCTIC 2 braying Adélie penguins on Paulet Island (p 83 ) 3 Knock back a throat-burning pepper vodka at the convivial bar of Ukrainian station Academician Anvers Island Vernadskiy (p 79 ) 4 Send a postcard at UK base-turned- Palmer Station museum, Port (US) Lockroy (p 75 ) Lemaire 65ºS Channel 5 Step inside a time Academician capsule of 1950s Vernadskiy British Antarctic life (Ukraine) Argentine Islands at Base W on Detaille Yalour Islands Island (p 79 ) Beascochea 6 Search for Bay fossils on Seymour Island (p 86 ) to show your fellow visitors (remember, you can’t remove anything!) Biscoe 7 Explore Islands Nordenskjöld’s hut, the Peninsula’s oldest Crystal Sound remaining building, Antarctic Circle at Snow Hill Island (p 86 ) Crystal Sound Detaille 8 Spot Adélie Island penguins and human children at Esperanza Station (p 82 ) Adelaide 9 Inspect old Island science stations at A n t a r c t i c P e n i n s u l a Stonington Island Rothera (p 81 ) Station (UK) a See science in action at Palmer Teniente Carvajal Station (p 76 ), (Chile) Rothera Station Dion Islands (p 80 ) or space-aged Marguerite Bay Halley VI (p 87 ) 70ºW San Martín 65ºW (Argentina) Stonington Island.