The Polar Regions

Arctic exploration from the Romans to 1859 is described by the explorer Sir John Richardson (1787–1865) in this work, first published in 1861. Richardson also provides descriptions of the Arctic's weather, ice, natural history and native peoples. The book's second part discusses the largely unexplored Antarctic.

The Arctic explorer Sir John Richardson (1787–1865), who had accompanied both John Franklin and John Rae on major expeditions, expands here an article which had appeared in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Organised in two parts, and published in 1861, this work covers first the Arctic and then the largely unexplored Antarctic. Adopting a chronological approach in the first part, Richardson covers Roman knowledge of the far north, Norse voyages, and later exploration by the British, Dutch and Russians. He then deals in detail with the search for the North-West Passage, including the expeditions in search of Sir John Franklin. Later chapters cover Spitsbergen, Arctic weather, ice, currents, geology, vegetation and zoology, as well as the three principal groups of native people: the Inuit, Lapps and Samoyeds. In the second part, Richardson outlines Antarctic exploration since 1576, providing an overview of what little was known of this part of the globe.