Mount Erebus in
Antarctica is the southernmost active
volcano on Earth. With a summit elevation of 3,795&_160;
metres (12,451&_160;
ft), it is located on
Ross Island, which is also home to three inactive volcanoes, notably
Mt. Terror.
The volcano has been observed to be continuously active since 1972 and is the site of the Mt. Erebus Volcano Observatory run by New Mexico Tech.
Mount Erebus was discovered on January 27, 1841 (and observed to be in eruption)[1] by polar explorer Sir James Clark Ross who named it and Mount Terror after his ships, Erebus and Terror (which were also used by Sir John Franklin on his disastrous Arctic expedition). It was first climbed (to the rim) by members of Sir Ernest Shackleton's party in 1908. Erebus was a primordial Greek god, the son of Chaos.
The first known solo ascent of Mount Erebus was accomplished by Charles J. Blackmer on January 19-20, 1991. Blackmer, an ironworker for many years at McMurdo Station and the South Pole, accomplished this in a twenty-four hour period. The ascent took approximately seventeen hours. This event has been cited in two books about Antarctic experiences, Terra Incognita by Sara Wheeler and Big Dead Place by Nicholas Johnson.
