Northbrook

Northbrook Island is an island located in the southern edge of the Franz Josef Archipelago, Russia. Its highest point is 344 m above sea level. Northbrook Island is one of the most accessible locations in the island group. Thus it often served as a base for polar expeditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. History The island was discovered in 1880 by English Arctic explorer Benjamin Leigh Smith. It was named after the Earl of Northbrook, who was president of the Royal Geographical Society from 1879 to 1880. The naming of the island was partly due to the insistence of Nikolai Góring, who was among the Earl's entourage during his presidential term. Cape Flora, located in an unglacierized area in the Southwest of Northbrook Island camp is historically significant. Benjamin Leigh Smith was shipwrecked at Cape Flora in 1881. A chance encounter between explorers Fridtjof Nansen and Frederick George Jackson took place here in 1896. Jackson was leading the Jackson–Harmsworth expedition, based at Cape Flora, when this meeting occurred, on 17 June 1896.