Arctic Exploration in the rare book collection

The search for the Northwest Passage, a route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic Seas, is what drove many 19th-century early expeditions.

A route like this would be faster than traditional shipping lanes, and climate change has made it more of a lucrative reality. The Washington College Rare Book Collection has several books on these early Acrtic explorations. One of the most famous and tragic is the final exploration of Sir John Franklin. The library has Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea: in the years 1819, 20, 21, and 22 by Franklin himself. His third exploration attempt in 1845 would end with the loss of two ships, the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, both recently discovered amazingly intact, and the disappearance of all 129 men. Numerous search and rescue expeditions were dispatched. While Franklin and his men were never found, these led to probably the most expansive discovery of the region and inspired many to make attempts to both the North and South Poles. 

It is very hard to look at the news and not see articles about ice sheet melts and glacier loss. The description of these expeditions in the 19th century, prior to modern data records and photography, can give us a greater perspective of how vastly different the landscape has become.  

If this topic is of interest to you please join the Center for Environment and Society for "The Local to Global Impacts of Arctic Thaw," a Conversation with Arctic Ecologist Dr. Susan Natali, tomorrow,  January 31, 2023.