Ross Island

Ross Island is a 2460 km² volcanic island in the Ross Sea of Antarctica, near the coast of Victoria Land. Sir James Clark Ross discovered it in 1841; Robert F. Scott named this island after him. Ross named Mount Terror and Mount Erebus, two of the three volcanoes on the island, after his ships HMS Terror and HMS Erebus. The third volcano is called Mount Bird and is located on the northern peninsula ending at Cape Bird. Only Mount Erebus is still active today.

Also to the north is Cape Tennyson, to the east of which is Cape Crozier. There begins the Ross Ice Shelf, which permanently connects Ross Island to the continent's landmass to the south. Cape MacKay, on the southeast spur of the island, is in the Ross Ice Shelf. West of this, the ice shelf begins at Hut Point Peninsula, whose southernmost spur forms Cape Armitage. It is home to both New Zealand's Scott Base Antarctic Station and McMurdo Station, part of the U.S. Antarctic Program and the largest Antarctic settlement. On the west side of Ross Island are Cape Evans and Cape Royds in McMurdo Sound.

Ross Island has been the starting point of several expeditions to Antarctica, as it is the southernmost island that can be reached from the sea. The three huts that Scott and Ernest Henry Shackleton built on this island during their expeditions in the early 20th century are still standing.

In 1979, Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed into the north slope of Mount Erebus, killing 257 people. Much of the wreckage of the plane is still visible on the slope of the mountain.

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