The Ancient Oaks of England:
Distribution and density map of 3,300 oaks in England with a girth greater than 6 metres
Map production: Justin Moat, GIS Unit, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
#OnThisDay in 1916 Ernest Shackleton, Frank Worsley, Tom Crean, Harry McNeish, Timothy McCarthy, and John Vincent launched the 'James Caird', from Elephant Island. Ahead lay a daunting 1,300km journey to South Georgia Island to seek rescue for the stranded crew of the 'Endurance'.
๐ธ Depiction of the James Caird, published in 'South' 1919.
#OnThisDay in 1915, Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition ship 'Endurance' became frozen in the Weddell Sea pack ice, she was "like an almond in a piece of toffee" wrote the ships storekeeper.
The 'Endurance' was a days sail away from her destination when the ice closed in. She had already battled through a thousand miles of pack ice over six weeks. This significantly set back Shackleton's expedition plans and ultimately lead to one of the greatest survival stories of all time. By the end of February 1915, temperatures had fallen dramatically securing the ship in the ice for the winter.