Geographical objects named after travelers. Origin of geographical names

Sometimes famous travelers discovered new places and gave them names themselves, in other cases, the discoverers decided to immortalize in the geographical name the rest. Anyway, there are quite a few such names on the map. To study them is very interesting and even useful, especially if you are planning a vacation and want to choose the most original route.

Mount Cook

The history of the geographical discoveries of this navigator is rather tragic - in one of his voyages he died. His memory preserves the mountain of the same name, which is also known as Aoraki. It is located in the western part of the island in New Zealand, in places so well studied by an English traveler. The origin of the names of geographical objects is often directly related to their discoverer, a similar case, and here - James Cook actually visited this mountain. This is the highest point of the Southern Alps at a height of 3,754 meters, covered with glaciers and snow and shaped like a saddle and steep slopes. Since 1953, the territory around is considered a National Park, preserving the reserved vegetation and a unique landscape. Here you can meet unique kea, alpine parrots, as well as skates and wagtails.

The Straits of Magellan

Geographical objects, named after travelers, can be found in South Patagonia. Magellan is called the strait, which separates South America from the archipelago Tierra del Fuego. Its length is five hundred and seventy-five kilometers, and the smallest depth is twenty meters. The Strait is named for the traveler who overcame it as the first of Europeans during his journey around the world. This happened in 1520. Interestingly, great geographical discoveries are also associated with this locality (Grade 7 studies this historical period, it is known to almost everyone), and it was here that Magellan discovered the Cape of Saint Ursula. The spill he gave the name in honor of the Feast of All Saints, but the Spanish king renamed it in honor of the discoverer and his feat, committed in October 1520.

Drake Passage

Geographical objects, named in honor of travelers, are associated with the most important events in world history. For example, the Drake Passage, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the widest in the world, making up more than eight hundred kilometers in the most narrow places. On the strait is the current of the Western Winds, due to which there are always strong storms with waves up to fifteen meters high. Also here you can see drifting ice. In addition, the strait is the southernmost point of the continent of South America, the legendary Cape Horn. It is named after the English navigator Francis Drake, who first went here in 1578. Great geographical discoveries (their 7th grade is held in the framework of the main program) were committed before the advent of this traveler, but his contribution can not be ignored.

Livingston town

There are different geographical objects named after travelers, but all of them are usually rivers, seas or straits. Cities of this kind are few, and Livingston is one of them. It is located in Zambia, near the famous Victoria Falls. The history of geographical discoveries of the scientist David Livingston is small, he made a greater contribution to the study of the customs of local residents, having come to Africa as a missionary. Until 1935 the city was the capital of the country, and now it is popular with tourists who are attracted by the nearby Mosi-ao-Tunja National Park. Livingston has many interesting entertainments: from riding a quad bike to elephant safari. In addition, there are many amazing museums, which also attract a considerable number of tourists.

Laptev sea

Geographical objects, named in honor of travelers, are connected with Russian researchers. For example, the Laptev Sea, located in the north of Siberia, next to the Taimyr Peninsula. It was named in honor of the Russian explorers of the North Pole, who were cousins. Until the name that perpetuated the Laptevs was obtained, the sea was known under the name of Nordenskiold. This territory is distinguished by a cold climate with an almost constant temperature below zero. In the sea a low salinity of water, nine months of the year it is hidden by ice. Almost no people live on the shores, and flora and fauna are extremely scarce. In ancient times, here lived the tribes of the Yukaghirs, Even and Evenks, who lived at the expense of fishing and reindeer breeding. The development of Russian travelers was started in the seventeenth century. In the Laptev Sea there are dozens of islands untouched by man. On some, the remains of mammoths were found. The largest settlement of the territory is the village of Tiksi.

Bering Strait

Geographical objects, named after travelers, most often are water. That's the Bering Strait, going from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific, is exactly this. It separates Asia from North America, namely, Cape - Dezhneva from the Prince of Wales. The lowest depth of the strait is thirty-six meters, and the minimum width is eighty-six kilometers. The name is associated with Bering, a native of Denmark, who passed here in 1728. Before him, the territory was studied by Semyon Dezhnev, after whom the Chukchi Cape, the easternmost point of Asia, was named. In the center of the strait are the islands of Diomida, their two. The first one is a large one, Ratmanov. The second, the island of Krusenstern, is smaller. The first is the property of the Russian Federation, and the second - of the United States of America, divides them about four kilometers. In addition, between them there is a border of time zones and a line of change of dates.

From time to time, at the government level, the possibility of building a tunnel or bridge that would connect Alaska and Chukotka is being discussed, but plans never go into implementation because of a variety of reasons, both economic and technical. However, it is likely that in the future such a project will still be implemented with the cooperation of specialists from Russia and the United States.