Scott’s Hut and the Explorers' Heritage of Antarctica

On November 1, 1911, British explorer Robert Falcon Scott departed from Cape Evans on his Terra Nova Expedition, the legendary race against Norwegian Roald Amundsen to become the first man to reach the South Pole. Scott left behind a prefabricated, seaweed-insulated wooden cabin and its outbuildings, as well as scientific equipment used to measure the continent’s fearsome climate.

The captain and his companions never returned to camp--they died on the return journey after having been beaten to the pole by Amundsen. The cabin would be later occupied by Sir Ernest Shackleton during his Imperial Trans Arctic Expedition (1914–1917), and supplies from both expeditions are still at the camp, historic remains from the heroic age of Antarctic exploration.

Scott’s Hut at Cape Evans is in imminent danger as a result of unprecedented snow and ice building up at the site--thought to be a result of changing climate conditions in Antarctica--with up to 100 tons of snow accumulating on the hut in a few short months. Additional threats, such as new biological agents that could cause damage to the huts and their artifacts, are also predicted.

While other explorers’ heritage sites in Antarctica--including Scott’s Northern Party base and Carsten Borchgrevink’s base at Cape Adare--are also threatened, Scott’s Cape Evans hut is in most immediate danger of collapse.

The history of these historic expeditions and the men who carried them out are contained within these huts, and there is still much to learn from them. Time capsules of sorts, they appear to have been recently vacated by the men who built them, with food on the shelves and socks hanging on laundry lines. In addition, these were scientific expeditions, and data collected during Scott’s Terra Nova mission now serve as benchmarks against which current climate conditions can be measured.

Climate change also threatens these sites:

- Herschel Island

- Sonargaon-Panam City
- Leh Old Town
- Kilwa Historic Sites
- Chinguetti Mosque

Read more about sites affected by climate change



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