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The influence of L.R. Blake, pioneering sub-Antarctic geographer and geologist, on the topographic mapping of Macquarie Island

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

H.J.G. Dartnall ,
N. Ward ,
P.M. Selkirk ,
D.A. Adamson  and
M. Pharaoh
H.J.G. Dartnall
Affiliation:
76 Lewes Rd, Ditchling, Sussex BN6 8TY
N. Ward
Affiliation:
Landinfo, Sinclair Knight Mertz, PO Box 930, Dickson, ACT 2602, Australia
P.M. Selkirk
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia
D.A. Adamson
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia
M. Pharaoh
Affiliation:
Mawson Antarctic Collection, Coach House, Waite Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
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Abstract

New biographical information is given about L.R. Blake, surveyor and geologist at Macquarie Island during the 1911–14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition. Blake's survey of the island yielded maps that in significant respects are more accurate than the current topographic map of 1971, which, with one exception, adopted his height measurements for the 23 named peaks. The more recent height estimates for these peaks are assessed, and it is concluded that, while some of Blake's measurements were significantly in error, his values still stand as the best current estimates for one-third of the peaks. Blake's death five weeks before the end of the First World War consigned his achievements on Macquarie Island to obscurity.

Type
Articles
Information
Polar Record , Volume 37 , Issue 201 , April 2001 , pp. 143 - 150
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2001

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