View source for Ross Island

{{Short description|Island in Ross Sea, Antarctica}}
{{other places}}
{{Infobox islands
| name               = Ross Island
| image_name         = File:South End of Ross Island.jpg
| image_caption      = South end of Ross Island, with the pyramidal [[Observation Hill (McMurdo Station)|Observation Hill]] at the center of the image, between [[McMurdo Station]] and [[Scott Base]]. [[Hut Point Peninsula#Crater Hill|Crater Hill]] is visible to the right.
| image_alt          = Ross Island, Antarctica. Topographical map, scaled one to two hundred and fifty thousand. Sourced from the United States Geological Survey
| map                = Antarctica
| nickname           = 
| location           = [[Antarctica]]
| coordinates        = {{Coord|77|30|S|168|00|E|scale:2000000|display=inline,title}}
| archipelago        = [[Ross Archipelago]]
| total_islands      = 
| major_islands      = 
| area_km2           = 2460
| length_km          = 
| width_km           = 
| highest_mount      = [[Mount Erebus]]
| elevation_m        = 3794
| population         = 1300 (non-permanent)
| population_as_of   = 
| density_km2        = 
| ethnic_groups      = 
| country            = None
| treaty_system      = [[Antarctic Treaty System]]
}}

'''Ross Island''' is an island in Antarctica lying on the east side of [[McMurdo Sound]] and extending {{convert|43|nmi}} from [[Cape Bird]] in the north to [[Cape Armitage]] in the south, and a similar distance from [[Cape Royds]] in the west to [[Cape Crozier]] in the east.
The island is entirely volcanic.
[[Mount Erebus]], {{convert|3,795|m}}, near the center, is an active volcano.
[[Mount Terror (Antarctica)|Mount Terror]], {{convert|3,230|m}} about {{convert|20|nmi}} eastward, is an extinct volcano. 
[[Mount Bird]] rises to {{convert|1,765|m}} just south of Cape Bird.{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=631}}

Ross Island lies within the boundary of [[Ross Dependency]], an area of Antarctica claimed by [[New Zealand]]. However, the claim is currently in abeyance by the International [[Antarctic Treaty System]] of 1961. Signatories of this treaty essentially agree that Antarctica is used for peaceful and scientific purposes. The United States and New Zealand each established bases, [[McMurdo Station|McMurdo]] and [[Scott Base|Scott]], in the mid 1950s on Ross Island; the former is now the largest human settlement in Antarctica since its founding. The island is also home to early exploration shacks and memorials including [[Shackleton's Hut]] at [[Cape Royds]], [[Scott's Hut]] at [[Cape Evans]], and [[Discovery Hut]] at [[Hut Point]].

Ross Island, although an island surrounded by water, is essentially permanently connected to the main Antarctica land mass by a glacial ice sheet on its south and eastern side: it is only the sea ice in McMurdo sound that melts and re-freezes each year. The [[South Pole Traverse]] goes from Ross Island across the ice sheet to the South Pole, and that road is opened seasonally to clear snow and check for new crevasses in the 21st century. At the edge of the Antarctic glacial ice sheet and McMurdo sound, is an ice cliff. The southern tip of Ross Island, Hut Point, has a harbor that is the southernmost harbor in the world, and is opened each year by icebreakers during the light season at the end of the year to bring supplies. From these bases resources flow to science projects and Antarctic bases and field stations not just on Ross island but many places throughout Antarctica. There are also several airports and airstrips around Ross Island, some of which are only open seasonally.
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==History==
===Discovery===
[[File:Castle Rock - Antarctica.jpg|thumb|left|Ross Island's [[Castle Rock (Antarctica)|Castle Rock]] was discovered and named by the Robert Falcon Scott British Antarctica Expedition of 1901-1904]]
This area was discovered by Sir [[James Clark Ross]] in 1841, but he thought it formed part of the mainland of [[Victoria Land]]. 
It was determined to be an island and named Ross Island by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901-04), led by [[Robert Falcon Scott]], in honor of Sir James Clark Ross.{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=631}}
Ross Island was the base for many of the [[History of Antarctica|early expeditions to Antarctica]]. It is the southernmost island reachable by sea. 
Huts built by Scott's and [[Ernest Shackleton|Shackleton's]] expeditions are still standing on the island, preserved as historical sites.

Today Ross Island is home to [[New Zealand]]'s [[Scott Base]] and to the largest Antarctic settlement, the [[United States Antarctic Program]]'s [[McMurdo Station]]. [[Greenpeace]] established [[World Park Base]] on the island and ran it for five years, from 1987 to 1992.

==Geography==


Because of the persistent presence of the [[ice sheet]], the island is sometimes taken to be part of the Antarctic mainland. 
Only a small portion of the island is free of ice and snow.
Its area is {{convert|2460|km2|mi2|}}.
Despite its relatively small size, Ross Island is the world's [[List of islands by highest point|6th highest island]] and the highest island in Antarctica. It has the highest average elevation of any island.{{fact|date=February 2024}}

Major volcanic peaks include, from west to east, [[Mount Bird]], [[Mount Erebus]], [[Mount Terra Nova]] and [[Mount Terror (Antarctica)|Mount Terror]].{{sfn|Ross Island USGS}}
Mount Erebus is ({{convert|3794|m}}) is the planet's southernmost active volcano.
The extinct volcano Mount Terror ({{convert|3230|m}}), is the second highest on the island. 
They were named by Captain [[James Clark Ross|James Ross]] after his ships [[HMS Erebus (1826)|HMS ''Erebus'']] and [[HMS Terror (1813)|HMS ''Terror'']]. 
The third highest elevation is [[Mount Bird]], with Shell Glacier and Endeavour Piedmont Glacier on its slopes.{{sfn|LeMasurier|Thomson|1990}}

The [[Erebus hotspot]] is thought to be responsible for the island's volcanic activity.{{sfn|Morgan|Phipps Morgan|2007|pp=26–27}}

[[File:Ross Island Map USGS 250k.png|thumb|600px|upright=1.3|center|Map of Ross Island]]
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==Stations and huts==
[[File:Observation Hill.jpg|thumb|Observation hill overlooks McMurdo Station]]
[[File:Scott Base, the New Zealand Research Station in the Antarctic (30812063932).jpg|thumb|Scott Base]]
The base of the [[Hut Point Peninsula]] is home to [[McMurdo Station]],  [[Scott Base]] and [[Discovery Hut]].
[[Scott's Hut]] is further north on the west coast, at [[Cape Evans]].
North of this at [[Cape Royds]] is [[Shackleton's Hut]].
Finally, the [[Cape Bird Hut]] is just south of [[Cape Bird]].{{sfn|Ross Island USGS}}
*McMurdo Station, established in 1955, is the largest station in Antarctica. It provides logistic support to the United States Antarctic Program. It has a harbor, landing strips, about 85 buildings including large three story structures, a power plant, warehouses and other infrastructure.{{sfn|McMurdo Station NSF}}
*[[Scott Base]] was established on [[Pram Point]] by New Zealand in 1957 as a permanent base supporting scientific researchers who visit Antarctica in the summer. The area under roof is about {{convert|4000|m2}}.{{sfn|Antarctic Station Catalogue|pp=92–93}}
*Discovery Hut was built on Hut Point during the British National Antarctic Expedition 1901-1904 (Discovery Expedition). It was the first hut to be built on the island.{{sfn|Scott's Discovery Hut AHT}}
*Scott’s Hut at Cape Evans was the base for [[Robert Falcon Scott]]’s British Antarctic (Terra Nova) Expedition 1910–1913. It was built in January 1911 on a beach of volcanic scoria on the north-west side of Cape Evans. The Antarctic Heritage Trust has restored the hut and now maintains it.{{sfn|Scott’s Terra Nova Hut AHT}}
*Shackleton's Hut at Cape Royds is a prefabricated timber hut built in London in 1907 for [[Ernest Shackleton]]’s British Antarctic (Nimrod) Expedition 1907–1909. It was disassembled, then rebuilt on site, and used by the expedition for 14 months.{{sfn|Ernest Shackleton’s Hut AHT}}
*Cape Bird Hut was a six-person shelter built at New Zealand's Scott Base in 1966 and taken by helicopter to Cape Bird. It was rebuilt in 1991, can house eight people, and has a kitchen with a propane stove and diesel-powered central heating.{{sfn|Varetto|2021}}
[[File:Mcmurdo.jpg|thumb|600px|center|Ross Island and McMurdo Sound. (south is up)]]
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==Capes and peninsulas==
[[File:McMurdo, seen from an LC-130.jpg|thumb|right|Aerial view of the tip of [[Hut Point Peninsula]] with [[McMurdo Station]] on the near side and [[Scott Base]] on the far side. [[Mount Terror (Antarctica)|Mount Terror]] in the background]]
[[File:The Edge Of Ross Island, Antarctica.jpg|thumb|Edge of Ross Island]]
Capes and peninsulas include, clockwise from the south, the [[Hut Point Peninsula]], [[Cape Evans]], [[Cape Royds]], [[Cape Bird]], [[Cape Tennyson]], [[Cape Crozier]] and [[Cape MacKay]].{{sfn|Ross Island USGS}}
*Hut Point Peninsula is a long, narrow peninsula from {{Convert|2|to|3|nmi}} wide and {{Convert|15|nmi}} long, projecting south-west from the slopes of [[Mount Erebus]].{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=356}}
*Cape Evans is a rocky cape on the west side of Ross Island, forming the north side of the entrance to [[Erebus Bay]].{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=227}}
*Cape Royds is a dark rock cape forming the western extremity of Ross Island, facing on [[McMurdo Sound]].{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=634}}
*Cape Bird marks the north extremity of Ross Island.{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=67}}
*Cape Tennyson is a rock cape on the north coast of Ross Island, about {{convert|25|nmi}} southeast of Cape Bird.{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=738}}
*Cape Crozier is the most easterly point of Ross Island.{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=164}}
*Cape MacKay is an ice-covered cape which forms the southeast extremity of Ross Island.{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=452}}

==Major bays==
Large bays include [[Erebus Bay]], [[Wohlschlag Bay]], [[Lewis Bay]] and [[Windless Bight]].{{sfn|Ross Island USGS}}
*Erebus Bay is about {{convert|13|nmi}} wide between [[Cape Evans]] and [[Hut Point Peninsula]], on the west side of Ross Island.{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=224}}
*Wohlschlag Bay is a large bay indenting the west side of Ross Island between [[Harrison Bluff]] and [[Cape Royds]].{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=821}}
*Lewis Bay is a bay indenting the north coast of Ross Island between Mount Bird and [[Cape Tennyson]].{{sfn|Alberts|1995|pp=430–431}}
*Windless Bight is the prominent bight indenting the south side of Ross Island eastward of [[Hut Point Peninsula]].{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=818}}

==Major glaciers==
[[File:Ponting Barne Glacier.jpg|thumb|Barne Glacier around 1910]]
Major glaciers entering the sea or ice cap around the island include, clockwise from the south, [[Erebus Glacier]] and the [[Erebus Glacier Tongue]], [[Barne Glacier]], [[Shell Glacier]],  [[Terror Glacier (Antarctica)|Terror Glacier]] and [[Aurora Glacier (Antarctica)|Aurora Glacier]].{{sfn|Ross Island USGS}}

*Erebus Glacier is a glacier draining the lower southern slopes of [[Mount Erebus]]. It flows west to [[Erebus Bay]] where it forms the floating Erebus Glacier Tongue.{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=224}}
*Shell Glacier is a western lobe of the Mount Bird icecap.  It descends steeply in the valley north of [[Trachyte Hill]] and [[Harrison Bluff]] in the center of the ice-free area on the lower western slopes of Mount Bird.{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=669}}
*Barne Glacier is a steep glacier which descends from the west slopes of Mount Erebus and terminates on the west side of Ross Island between [[Cape Barne]] and [[Cape Evans]] where it forms a steep ice cliff.{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=46}}
*Terror Glacier is a large glacier between Mount Terra Nova and Mount Terror, flowing south into [[Windless Bight]].{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=740}}
*Aurora Glacier is a large glacier draining that part of Ross Island between Mount Erebus and Mount Terra Nova, and flowing south into [[McMurdo Ice Shelf]].{{sfn|Alberts|1995|p=34}}

== See also ==
[[File:Ross Island Pressure Ridges 1.jpg|thumb|Sea ice and Ross Island]]
* [[List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands]]
* [[McMurdo Sound]]
* [[Ross Sea]]
* [[Ross Bank]]

==References==
[[File:Ross_Island_(orthographic_projection).svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Orthographic projection centered over Ross Island]]
{{reflist |25em}}

==Sources==
{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFEndeavour_Piedmont_Glacier_USGS}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/fedgov/70039167/report.pdf |accessdate=2024-01-30  |edition=2
 |editor-last=Alberts |title=Geographic Names of the Antarctic |editor-first=Fred G.
 |publisher=[[United States Board on Geographic Names]]|year=1995}}  {{Include-USGov |agency=United States Board on Geographic Names}}
*{{citation |type=catalogue |url=https://www.comnap.aq/s/COMNAP_Antarctic_Station_Catalogue.pdf
 |title=Antarctic Station Catalogue |ref={{harvid|Antarctic Station Catalogue}}
 |date=August 2017 |publisher=[[Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs]] |isbn=978-0-473-40409-3 |page=93 |access-date=8 February 2024}}
*{{citation |url=https://nzaht.org/conserve/explorer-bases/shackletons-hut/ |accessdate=2024-02-08
 |title=Ernest Shackleton’s Hut |publisher=Antarctic Heritage Trust |ref={{harvid|Ernest Shackleton’s Hut AHT}} }}
*{{citation |title=Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Oceans |publisher=[[American Geophysical Union]] |year=1990 |pages=512 |isbn=0-87590-172-7
 |editor-last1=LeMasurier |editor-first1=W. E. |editor-last2=Thomson |editor-first2=J. W. }}
*{{citation |url=https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/support/mcmurdo.jsp |accessdate=2024-02-08 
 |title=McMurdo Station |publisher=US National Science Foundation | ref={{harvid|McMurdo Station NSF}} }}
*{{citation  |url=http://www.mantleplumes.org/P%5E4/P%5E4Chapters/MorganP4ElectronicSupp1.pdf |accessdate=2024-02-06
 |last1=Morgan |first1=W.J. |last2=Phipps Morgan |first2=J. |year=2007 |title=Plate velocities in hotspot reference frame: electronic supplement}}
*{{citation |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RossIslandMap.jpg |accessdate=2024-01-30
 |title=Ross Island |publisher=USGS: United States Geological Survey |ref={{harvid|Ross Island USGS}} }}
*{{citation |url=https://nzaht.org/conserve/explorer-bases/scotts-hut-cape-evans/scotts-terra-nova-hut/ |accessdate=2024-02-08
 |title=Scott’s Terra Nova Hut |publisher=Antarctic Heritage Trust |ref={{harvid|Scott’s Terra Nova Hut AHT}} }}
*{{citation |url=http://www.waponline.it/cape-bird-hut-wap-nzl-new/ |accessdate=2024-02-08 |title=Cape Bird Hut, WAP NZL-NEW
 |last=Varetto |first=Gianni |date=13 October 2021 |work=W.A.P. Worldwide Antarctic Program}} 
*{{citation |url=https://nzaht.org/conserve/explorer-bases/scotts-hut-hut-point/ |accessdate=2024-12-24
|title=Scott's Discovery Hut |publisher=Antarctic Heritage Trust |ref={{harvid|Scott's Discovery Hut AHT}} }}
{{refend}}
{{Include-USGov |agency=United States Geological Survey}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ross Island}}
* [http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS126666 Coastal-change and Glaciological Map of the Ross Island Area, Antarctica, 1962-2005] [[United States Geological Survey]]

{{Ross Island}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ross Island| ]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of the Southern Ocean]]
[[Category:Islands of the Ross Dependency]]