Elephant Island, Antarctica

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of
Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands in the
Southern Ocean. Its name was given by early explorers sighting elephant
seals on its shores. It lies 1,253 kilometers (779 mi) west-southwest of
South Georgia, 935 kilometers (581 mi) south of the Falkland Islands, and
885 kilometers (550 mi) southeast of Cape Horn. It is within the Antarctic
claims of Argentina, Chile and the UK.

Geography

The island is approximately an east to west orientation, with a maximum
elevation of 2795 ft (852 m) above sea level at Pardo Ridge. Significant
named features of the island are Cape Yelcho, Cape Valentine and Cape
Lookout at its northeastern and southernmost extremes, and Point Wild, a
spit of land on its northern coast. The Endurance Glacier is the main
discharge glacier on the island.

The island supports no significant flora or native fauna although migratory
Gentoo penguins and seals may be found on its shores, and Chinstrap penguins
nest there in season. A lack of safe anchorage has prevented any permanent
human settlements being formed, despite the island being well placed to
support scientific, fishing and whaling activities in the area.

Elephant Island's name can be attributed to both its elephant head-like
appearance and the sighting of elephant seals by Captain George Powell in
1821, one of the earliest sightings of the island. Its weather is normally
foggy with much snow. Additionally, winds can reach speeds up to 100 miles
per hour on the frigid island. Anyone wishing to visit this remote island
must have high cold thresholds and extreme weather tolerance.

Endurance Expedition

The island is most famous as the desolate refuge of Ernest Shackleton and
his crew in 1916. Following the loss of their ship Endurance in Weddell Sea
ice, the 28 exhausted men reached Elephant Island after a harrowing ordeal
on drifting ice floes. They established a camp at a place they called Point
Wild where they were able to regain some strength.

Realizing that there was no chance of rescue by any passing ships,
Shackleton decided to set out for South Georgia where he knew there was a
whaling station. In one of the most incredible feats in the history of
sailing and navigation, Shackleton sailed off with five other men on an 800
mile voyage in the open lifeboat James Caird on Easter Monday, April 24,
1916, arriving at South Georgia almost two weeks later. His second in
command, John Robert Francis "Frank" Wild remained in charge of the 21 other
men on Elephant Island for more than four months while Shackleton led
attempts to return with a rescue ship. In his memoir Wild recalled "We gave
them three hearty cheers and watched the boat getting smaller and smaller in
the distance. Then seeing some of the party in tears, I immediately set them
all to work."

Indeed, there was much work for the stranded party. Because the island had
no natural source of shelter, they constructed a shack and wind blocks from
their remaining two lifeboats and pieces of canvas tents. Blubber lamps were
used for lighting. Expedition physicist Reginald James composed the
following verses out of gratitude for Wild's leadership:

My name is Frankie Wild-o.
Me hut's on Elephant Isle.
The wall's without a single brick
And the roof's without a tile.
Nevertheless I must confess,
By many and many a mile,
It's the most palatial dwelling place
You'll find on Elephant Isle.
It's the most palatial dwelling place
You'll find on Elephant Isle.

They hunted for penguins and seals, neither of which was plentiful during
the autumn and winter months. The crew, many of whom were already ill and
frost-bitten, were now also in danger of starvation. After four and a half
months of waiting, one of the stranded men spotted a ship on August 30, 1916
The ship, led by Shackleton, was the borrowed tug boat Yelcho, from Punta
Arenas, Chile, commanded by Luis Pardo, which broke through the ice
surrounding the island to finally rescue all of the men who set out on the
original expedition.

According to Frank Worsley, Shackleton's captain, the men pronounced the island with a silent't' and an 'h' prefixed, which makes it into Hell-of-an-Island.