Through Antarctica with Google Street View

Travel through Antarctica with Google Street View—from the comfort of your own sofa. We have compiled a few Street View locations in Antarctica. Enjoy!

In its ongoing quest to map the world, the Google Street View team has already documented over 8 million km of the world, across 7 continents and in more than 50 countries.

Google Street View has also ventured off the beaten track to make unique places around the world accessible online. Examples include the Galapagos Islands, the Grand Canyon, underwater images of oceans, and even the Louvre and other famous museums around the world.

The Street View team also visited Antarctica. Approximately 98% of Antarctica is covered in ice. The Google team visited famous landmarks such as the South Pole, the hut of the famous Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, and, of course, penguin colonies!

_____________________

The ceremonial South Pole

Not far from the geographic South Pole is the ceremonial South Pole, located in front of the high-altitude station building. It consists of a metallic, mirrored sphere on a pedestal. The flags of the 12 original signatory states of the Antarctic Treaty are displayed in a semicircle around the marker – a tribute to the protection of the Antarctic environment and dedication to scientific research.

Penguin colony at Cape Royd

Attention: Now it's getting cute! Visit a penguin colony at Cape Royd and enjoy the endless expanse of Antarctica.

Robert Falcon Scott's hut

Anyone interested in Antarctica cannot avoid the rivalry between Scott and Amundsen. Scott's hut can now be viewed virtually with Google Street View. The hut is located on the north coast of Cape Evans on Ross Island in Antarctica. It was built in 1911 by the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1913 (also known as the Terra Nova Expedition) led by Robert Falcon Scott.

In the winter of 1911, 25 men from Scott's expedition lived in the hut. From here, Scott and his men set out on the ultimately fatal trek to the South Pole. Although it has been empty since 1917, the hut and its contents are remarkably well preserved today due to the consistently sub-zero conditions.

Ernest Shackleton's hut

Ernest Shackleton was an Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to Antarctica. He was one of the leading figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.  Shackleton sailed to McMurdo Sound in 1908 after failing to land on King Edward VII Land. Here he decided to build a hut at Cape Royds, a small headland twenty-three miles north of Hut Point, where Scott had stayed during the Discovery Expedition. The entire expedition party lived in this hut during the winter of 1908.  Before the entire expedition set off, the hut was tidied up. A letter was placed in a conspicuous place inside, stating that there were enough supplies and equipment for fifteen men for a year. The letter ended with a request to all subsequent parties to use the supplies and the hut as desired. The hut was then locked and the key nailed to the door in a conspicuous place. In 2006, five crates of whiskey, among other things, were found buried under the hut.

Rufous-bellied penguins on Half Moon Island

Half Moon Island in Antarctica, located in the South Shetland Islands, is a 420-hectare crescent-shaped island that is home to a large colony of chinstrap penguins.

South Pole Telescope

The South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a telescope with a diameter of 10 meters, located at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica. The telescope is designed for observations in the microwave, millimeter wave, and submillimeter wave ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum. Take a look inside the station.

On a Zodiac in Antarctica

The special highlight of an Antarctic expedition is undoubtedly the trips in a Zodiac. This brings you a little closer to the unique nature of the White Continent and allows you to land where hardly anyone else can go. See here what it's like to sit in a Zodiac.

Photos:
First photo: Wayne/Adobe Stock
Ceremonial South Pole: Mike/Adobe Stock
Cape Royds: melissa2760/Pixabay
Scott's hut: Eli Duke/Flickr
Shackleton's hut: Bryan Kiechle/Flickr
Gentoo penguins on Half Moon Island: Klaas Köhne
South Pole telescope: Bryan Kiechle/Flickr
Zodiac: John Bozinov/Poseidon Expeditions

Shall we stay in touch?

Travel articles from my blog