Research Catalog

Title

On the Arctic frontier : Ernest Leffingwell's polar explorations and legacy / Janet R. Collins.

Author

Collins, Janet R. (Janet Ruth), 1952-

Publication

Pullman, Washington : Washington State University Press, [2017]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

297 pages : illustrations (some color), maps (some color); 23 cm

Summary

During an age of celebrated polar adventurers, ambitious young geologist Ernest deKoven Letting well traveled to the Arctic as chief scientist for the 1901 Baldwin-Ziegler Expedition. He experienced the dangers of living and traveling in an extreme environment as he learned to operate delicate scientific instruments under harsh conditions. Then, with fellow explorer and friend Ejnar Mikkelsen, Leffingwell co-organized the 1906 Anglo-American Polar Expedition. Despite the perils and challenges of navigating pack ice, they determined the edge of the continental shelf-the first solid evidence that there was no land north of Alaska. Leffingwell stayed behind, and with assistance from his Inupiaq neighbors, the dedicated, driven risk-taker explored, surveyed, and documented geography along Alaska's north coast and geology in what is now the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). On the North Slope of the Brooks Range, he pioneered research in ground ice (permafrost), recorded observations of wildlife, and collected specimens for the Smithsonian and other institutions. Scientists and scholars still admire and use his groundbreaking work. Book jacket.

Subject

• Leffingwell, Ernest de K. 1875-1971
• Leffingwell, Ernest de K. 1875-1971
• Leffingwell, Ernest de Koven 1875-1971
• Explorers > United States > Biography
• Discoveries in geography
• Explorers
• Expedition
• Arctic regions > Discovery and exploration
• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Alaska) > History
• Polar regions > Discovery and exploration
• Alaska > Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
• Arctic Regions
• Polar regions
• United States
• Arktis

Genre/Form

• Biography
• Biographies.
• History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-291) and index.

Contents

1. To the Arctic : the Baldwin-Ziegler Expedition -- 2. Interlude : 1902-1906 -- 3. The Anglo-American Polar Expedition -- 4. Winter quarters at Flaxman Island -- 5. The Okpilak : "place of no willows" -- 6. The Canning and Hulahula rivers -- 7. Return to the Canning -- 8. Return north, 1909 -- 9. Mapping coastline and mountains, 1910-1911 -- 10. Exploration of the coastline continues, 1912 -- 11. Return north on the Mary Sachs, 1913-1914 -- 12. Post-Arctic life: 1914-1949 -- 13. The later years: 1950-1971 -- 14. Recognition -- Epilogue -- Appendix 1. Baldwin-Ziegler and AAPE members -- Appendix 2. Timeline -- Appendix 3. Okpilak sledge trip eqipment and food -- Appendix 4. Selected geographic names -- Appendix 5. Celsius-Fahrenheit conversion table.

ISBN

• 9780874223514
• 0874223512

LCCN

• 2017022065
• 40027692194

OCLC

• ocn990499326
• 990499326
• SCSB-8936083

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library