ABSTRACT
Is Wilkes Land as charted by Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes a land of fable and myth or is it part of the tangible world? This question has precipitated not only debate but also animosity and patriotic fervour. Claimed sailings over land designated by Wilkes naturally affirmed its apparent non-existence, but perhaps as we shall discover, there are extenuating or redeeming factors. Any fair assessment necessitates first some of the details of Wilkes’s narrative.
