An Antarctic Connection Exclusive!
DESCRIPTION:
This replica USGS Mark establishes the summit of
Observation Hill at McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica.
These U.S. Geological Survey markers are replicas of the original placed at the summit of Observation Hill.
* SIZE: 3-1/4" Dia x 1/4" thick
* Replica Mark is crafted from
solid pewter
* Each collector mark comes with an acrylic stand, a velvet pouch for storage, and a felted bottom
Observation Hill:
A 754-foot (230 m) hill adjacent to McMurdo Station, on Ross Island, Antarctica and commonly referred to as "Ob Hill." It is frequently climbed by residents and visitors of McMurdo Station (US) and Scott Base (NZ). "Ob Hill" provides excellent views overlooking both research stations, Mount Erebus, as well as across McMurdo Sound to the Antarctic continent.
(Photo credit: Forrest McCarthy)
History:
Robert Falcon Scott's party was found by a search party led by the surgeon Dr. Edward L. Atkinson. They were found dead by the members of the base camp, who took their photographic film, scientific specimens, and other materials. They had to leave Scott and his men in their tent, and later parties could not locate the campsite, since that area had been covered in snow. A century of storms and snow have covered the cairn and tent, which are now encased in the Ross Ice Shelf as it inches towards the Ross Sea. In 2001 glaciologist Charles R. Bentley estimated that the tent with the bodies was under about 75 feet (23 m) of ice and about 30 miles (48 km) from the point where they died; he speculated that in about 275 years the bodies would reach the Ross Sea, and perhaps float away inside an iceberg.
The search party returned to what is now known as McMurdo and climbed Observation Hill. There they erected a large wooden cross, inscribed the names of the fatal party and a short quote from the Alfred Tennyson poem "Ulysses", which reads "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
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