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Sir John Franklin Expedition
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The Qausuittuq Innin Resolute Bay |
The Lost Sir John Franklin Expedition
Sir John Franklin set out from England in 1845 to try to find the Northwest Passage. It is believed that he found a passage but could not get through because of the ice. His ships, the Terror and the Erebus, disappeared and all 129 men were lost somewhere in the Arctic.Captain Sir John Franklin's disappearance became a celebrated mystery in the nineteenth century. Over forty expeditions were launched in search of his party. This mystery has never been solved and efforts to solve it continue to this day.
The last known whereabouts of the Franklin Expedition was Beechey Island in 1845. The Erubus and Terror remained here over the winter. Left behind were 3 storehouses, workshops and three graves of seamen who died over the winter.
Two of the three graves from the 1845 Franklin expedition on Beechey Island
Artifacts from the Franklin Expedition
The coast of Beechey Island