Table of Contents
When was the first map of Antarctica made?
1513 AD
The map was signed by Piri Reis, an Ottoman-Turkish admiral, geographer and cartographer, and dated to the month of Muharram in the Islamic year 919 AH, equivalent to 1513 AD. It was presented to Ottoman Sultan Selim I in 1517.
How was the continent of Antarctica formed?
Antarctica as we know it was formed roughly 34 million years ago, when the continent was enveloped by the massive ice sheet it is known for today.
Why was the Piri Reis map made?
This map has been around since the age of great geographical discoveries, from the 15th to 17th century and was created in 1513. When he discovered the map, he realized that he could be holding a unique and important piece, and gave it to an orientalist named Paul Calais, who identified the map as Piri Reis.
How was Antarctica discovered?
The first confirmed sighting of mainland Antarctica, on 27 January 1820, is attributed to the Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, discovering an ice shelf at Princess Martha Coast that later became known as the Fimbul Ice Shelf.
Who made the Piri Reis map?
In 1513, Ottoman-Turkish admiral, geographer, and cartographer Piri Reis created a map of the world as it was known up until that point. Piri claimed in an inscription that the chart was based on about 20 other maps, in Portuguese, Spanish, and Arabic, and including some drawn by Christopher Columbus of the New World.
What is Piri Reis famous for?
He is primarily known today for his maps and charts collected in his Kitab-ı Bahriye (Book of Navigation), a book that contains detailed information on early navigational techniques as well as relatively accurate charts for their time, describing the important ports and cities of the Mediterranean Sea.
What continent was Antarctica originally attached to?
Some 200 million years ago, Antarctic continental crust was joined with South American, African, Indian, and Australian continental crust making up a large southern land mass known as Gondwana (the southern part of the supercontinent called Pangea).
When was Antarctica last ice free?
34 million years ago
It was ice-free until about 34 million years ago, when it became covered with ice. The lowest natural air temperature ever recorded on Earth was −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) at the Russian Vostok Station in Antarctica on 21 July 1983.
Who Discovered Antarctica and when discovered the continent?
Who got to Antarctica first?
explorer Roald Amundsen
The first ever expedition to reach the geographic Southern Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as part of the Terra Nova Expedition.