Thesaurus

Erebus

Standish Bakus Mount Ereubus 1956

The great "sacred" mountain of the Antarctic, this 13,000 foot active volcano is among the most majestic, beautiful, inspiring and forbidding prominences on earth. So domineering that one is aware of its existence visually from well over 100 miles distance; so aloof that it seems to maintain its own mantle of weather apart from anything being experienced by our lowly fleet at her feet (though quite capable of throwing 100 knots of wind in our direction when bored with her other moods); so terrifying that to step boldly at random on her flanks would amount to becoming engulfed instantly in some vast crevasse; so benign in the soft, warm light of the low sun as to permit her to take high place among the sentimental scenic settings in the world. In such a mood as the latter have I tempted to record a brief moment of Erebus.

Vessels represented, from the left, MSTS Greenville Victory, Arneb, Nespelen, YOG-34, Wyandot, Navy icebreaker Edisto, Coast Guard icebreaker Eastwind.

Standish Bakus, Navel Historical Centre, (August 2001)

Stephen Eastaugh 256 crosses, Erebus (Ross Island. Antarctica) 2007

An air new Zealand flightseeing trip over Antarctica crashed into Mt Erebus, the most southern active volcano on earth. At 3790 M high it is a smoking and very impressive hill. 257 people lost there lives due to the aircraft slamming into the side of the Mt. In 1979.