Antarctica

Antarctica, one of the names given to the great continent believed to lie round the South Pole, for which the name Magellanica has also been proposed; while some would extend the name Victoria Land, given to a part of it, to the whole. Recent discussions at geographical societies and congresses—notably at the geographical congress in London in 1895—have conferred on the world the importance of a regular scientific expedition to solve the innumerable problems, physical, geographical, geological, and biological, hidden under Antarctic snow and ice. Magnetic science might especially be expected to benefit by such a systematic expedition, to which the Australian governments are favourably disposed. Recent voyages have been mainly those of whalers, ill equipped for observations, such as that of the Antarctic in 1894–95, described by Borchgrevink at the Geographical Congress of 1895, when a latitude of 74° S. was reached, landings made, and rocks and vegetation brought back. The rocks dredged at various times in coastal waters seem to prove that the land is continental, not a mere archipelago. See ANTARCTIC OCEAN, CONTINENT.