#antarctica #roaldamundsen #robertfalconscott #ernestshackleton #richardebyrd #jamescook

From Questar Entertainment's Classic Collection, this vintage, engaging piece, initially released in 1990, was brilliantly written by Rolf Forsberg and Nancy Davis, with Forsberg also serving as director. It is narrated by Tom Erhart and edited by Bill Mallek. Albert J. Nader was the executive producer. All rights owned by Questar, Inc. in perpetuity.

Synopsis - As far back as Ancient Greece, scholars knew there was land at the bottom of the world. To them it was known as Terra Incognita, "the unknown land." For almost 2,000 years, the possibility of an undiscovered southern continent intrigued explorers. British Captain James Cook, in July 1775, after a three year voyage to Antarctica and failing to reach the South Pole, wrote "ice extends to the pole or perhaps to some land to which it has been fixed since creation." Cook related seeing large numbers of whales and seals. In 1820, and for decades thereafter, European and American sealers and whalers exploited the southern waters. However, the challenge to truly discover this mysterious land, and for a handful of brave men to reach the South Pole, persisted throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Shortly after the 20th century began, two men, Robert F. Scott of England and Roald Amundsen of Norway, engaged in a race to the South Pole, a race that is unparalleled in history, and which was watched by the entire world. Scott and Amundsen's expeditions played a major role in unveiling Antarctica to the world. The continent of Antarctica is larger than the U.S. and Central America put together, it is as dry as the Sahara desert, and yet it holds 90% of Earth's fresh water. This is the story of the least known continent in the world.