 Scott Island and Haggits Pillar | |
  Haggits Pillar | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Antarctica |
| Coordinates | 67°24′S179°55′W / 67.400°S 179.917°W Coordinates: 67°24′S179°55′W / 67.400°S 179.917°W |
| Area | 0.2 ha (0.49 acres) |
| Length | 165 ft (50.3 m) |
| Width | 165 ft (50.3 m) |
| Administration | |
| Administered under the Antarctic Treaty System | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
Haggits Pillar is a stack 203 feet (62 m) high in the South Pacific Ocean at the northwestern edge of the Ross Sea, lying 250 metres (270 yd) west of Scott Island and some 500 kilometres (310 mi) north-northeast of Cape Adare, Victoria Land, Antarctica. It measures 50 metres (55 yd) in diameter, yielding an area of less than 0.2 hectares (0.5 acres).
A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. They are formed when part of a headland is eroded by hydraulic action, which is the force of the sea or water crashing against the rock. The force of the water weakens cracks in the headland, causing them to later collapse, forming free-standing stacks and even a small island. Without the constant presence of water, stacks also form when a natural arch collapses under gravity, due to sub-aerial processes like wind erosion. Erosion causes the arch to collapse, leaving the pillar of hard rock standing away from the coast—the stack. Eventually, erosion will cause the stack to collapse, leaving a stump. Stacks can provide important nesting locations for seabirds, and many are popular for rock climbing.
The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Ross who visited this area in 1841. To the west of the sea lies Ross Island and Victoria Land, to the east Roosevelt Island and Edward VII Peninsula in Marie Byrd Land, while the southernmost part is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf, and is about 200 miles (320 km) from the South Pole. Its boundaries and area have been defined by the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research as having an area of 637,000 square kilometres (246,000 sq mi).
Scott Island is a small uninhabited island of volcanic origin in the Ross Sea, Southern Ocean, 505 kilometres (310 mi) northeast of Cape Adare, the northeastern extremity of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It is 565 metres (618 yd) long north-south, and between 130 metres (140 yd) and 340 metres (370 yd) wide, reaching a height of 54 metres (177 ft) and covering an area of 4 hectares. Haggits Pillar, a stack reaching 62 metres (203 ft) in height and measuring 50 metres (55 yd) in diameter, yielding an area of less than 0.2 hectares, is located 250 metres (270 yd) west of the island. The island has two small coves with beaches, the rest of the island being surrounded by high cliffs. One of the coves is on the northeastern coast and the other opposite Haggitts Pillar on the western coast of the island.
It was discovered on 25 December 1902 by Captain William Colbeck, Royal Navy Reserve, commander of the SY Morning, relief ship to the British National Antarctic Expedition (BrNAE), 1901–1904, under Robert Falcon Scott. The name was used on official charts of the BrNAE drawn by Lieutenant George F.A. Mulock. [1]
William Colbeck was a British seaman who distinguished himself on two Antarctic expeditions.
SY Morning was a steam yacht, known for her role as a relief vessel to Scott's British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–1904). She made two voyages to the Antarctic to resupply the expedition.
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition of 1910–1913. On the first expedition, he set a new southern record by marching to latitude 82°S and discovered the Antarctic Plateau, on which the South Pole is located. On the second venture, Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, less than five weeks after Roald Amundsen's Norwegian expedition. A planned meeting with supporting dog teams from the base camp failed, despite Scott's written instructions, and at a distance of 150 miles from their base camp and 12 miles from the next depot, Scott and his companions died. When Scott and his party's bodies were discovered, they had in their possession the first Antarctic fossils ever discovered. The fossils were determined to be from the Glossopteris tree and proved that Antarctica was once forested and joined to other continents.
