Ross Sea & Subantarctic Islands Expedition Cruises

Home | Antarctica | Ross Sea, East Antarctica & Subantarctic Islands

Quick Facts about Ross Sea & Subantarctic Islands

Ross Sea is the southern extension of the Pacific Ocean. With the vast Ross Ice Shelf at its head, the sea is a generally shallow marine region approximately 370,000 square miles (960,000 square km) between Cape Adare in northern Victoria Land on the west and Cape Colbeck on Edward VII Peninsula on the east. In 2016, the world's largest marine protected area was established in the Ross Sea.

The Ross Sea is one of the least-iced and most-accessible of Antarctica’s fringe seas. It was first explored on January 5, 1841, by the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, commanded by James Clark Ross on an unsuccessful attempt to reach the south magnetic pole.

The nutrient-rich seawater supports abundant planktonic life which in turn provides food for larger forms, including fish, seals, whales, and seabirds and shorebirds. Adélie and emperor penguins populate rookeries at a number of places around the Ross Sea.

The Subantarctic Islands to the south and east of New Zealand are comprised of six groups: the Bounty Islands, the Antipodes, the Snares, the Auckland Islands, Campbell Island and Macquarie Island. Flora and fauna are densely concentrated in these islands.

Top 5 Reasons to visit Ross Sea & Subantarctic Islands

Wildlife in the Ross Sea is among Antarctica's most abundant
It is home to the Ross Ice Shelf, the world's largest
The world's largest marine reserve is located here
The Ross Sea has fascinating stories on our most famous explorers
Mount Erebus, in the Ross Sea, is the second-highest volcano in Antarctica and the southernmost active volcano on Earth

Ross Sea & Subantarctic Islands Landing Sites

Ross Island - Mt. Erebus

This is where you will find the smoking volcano Mount Erebus, historic hunts from over a century ago, and modern scientific stations of the United States (McMurdo Station) and New Zealand (Scott Base).

Cape Royds is where Ernest Shackleton’s cabin still stands. Cape Evans is where the cabin of Robert Falcon Scott can still be seen. And Hut Point was where Scott and his men set out for the South Pole.

Ross Island - McMurdo Station

Ross Island - Cape Evans

Ross Island - Cape Evans

Ross Island - Cape Royds

Cape Adare

The first human habitation on the entire Antarctica continent remains here (erected in 1899) and it is still standing. It is one of the largest Adelie penguin colonies on Earth.

Cape Adare

The first human habitation on the entire Antarctica continent remains here (erected in 1899) and it is still standing. It is one of the largest Adelie penguin colonies on Earth.

Commonwealth Bay - Mawson's Hut

This is where Sir Douglas Mawson spent the 1912 and 1913 winters, which was called 'the home of the blizzard'. It is under an active conservation program.

Franklin Island

This island was found and named by James Clark Ross for Sir John Franklin of North West Passage fame. It was a little further north of Ross Island. Franklin Island is the eroded remains of a shield volcano. The vent is now submerged off the east coast.[2] The island is colonized by a large group of Adélie penguins.

Franklin Island

Cape Hallett

Cape Hallett is a snow-free area on the northern tip of the Hallett Peninsula on the Ross Sea coast of Victoria Land, East Antarctica. Cape Adare lies 100 km (62 mi) to the north. A joint scientific station was built by the US and New Zealand in January 1957 as part of the International Geophysical Year. A big Adelie penguin rockery is located in Seabee Hook.

Terra Nova Bay & Drygalski Ice Tongue

In Terra Nova Bay, off the Scott Coast of Victoria Land, a large pocket of open water persists throughout most of the Southern Hemisphere winter. This pocket of open water results from exceptionally strong winds that blow downslope from the Trans-Antarctic Mountains. The Drygalski Ice Tongue prevents the bay from being re-populated with sea ice.
Inexpressible Island is a small, rocky island in Terra Nova Bay, which has a fascinating history in connection to the lesser-known Northern Party of Captain Scott’s expedition. The group of six wintered here in 1912. It is also home to a large Adélie penguin rookery.
Itialian's Mario Zucchelli Base and German's Gondwana bases are located in Terra Nova Bay.

Terra Nova Bay & Drygalski Ice Tongue

McMurdo Sound

McMurdo Sound forms the western extension of Ross Sea and lies at the edge of Ross Ice Shelf. It is located west of Ross Island and east of Victoria Land. The channel is 92 miles (148 km) long and up to 46 miles (74 km) wide.

McMurdo Sound

Dry Valleys

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of largely ice-free valleys in Antarctica, located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. It covers a surface area of 1,850 square miles (4,800 square kilometres). The Dry Valleys experience extremely low humidity and surrounding mountains prevent the flow of ice from nearby glaciers.

Low temperatures, limited precipitation, and salt accumulation make the McMurdo Dry Valleys almost more like Mars than Earth.

Dry Valleys

Campbell Island

The Campbell Islands are New Zealand’s southernmost island group. They comprise the main and largest island, Campbell Island, with Dent and Jacquemart islands being the next largest. Campbell Island was discovered on 4 January, 1810, by Frederick Hasselburgh, captain of the Perseverance, and declared a nature reserve in 1954.

Campbell Island

Macquarie Island

Macquarie Island, also known as Macquarie Island Macca, is a Tasmanian State Reserve that in 1997 became a World Heritage Site. It is a site of major geoconservation significance, being the only place on earth where rocks from the earth’s mantle (6 km below the ocean floor) are being actively exposed above sea-level. The fauna on Macquarie is fantastic, and there are colonies of king, gentoo, and southern rockhopper penguins – as well as almost one million breeding pairs of the endemic royal penguin. Elephant seals and various fur seal species, such as the New Zealand fur seal, are also present.

Macquarie Island

Ross Island - Mt. Erebus

Ross Island - McMurdo Station

Ross Island - Cape Evans

Ross Island - Cape Evans

Ross Island - Cape Royds

Cape Adare

The first human habitation on the entire Antarctica continent remains here (erected in 1899) and it is still standing. It is one of the largest Adelie penguin colonies on Earth.

Cape Adare

The first human habitation on the entire Antarctica continent remains here (erected in 1899) and it is still standing. It is one of the largest Adelie penguin colonies on Earth.

Commonwealth Bay - Mawson's Hut

This is where Sir Douglas Mawson spent the 1912 and 1913 winters, which was called 'the home of the blizzard'. It is under an active conservation program.