Lesson 13:Explorer of Glaciers

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

By Dan Rosen
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS: 6 Joe LeMonnier / Melissa Turk; 14 Studio Montage; 16 Mike Maydak / Craven Design
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ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02756-2
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 NOR 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08

Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 1: Finding the Arctic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Chapter 2: Exploring the Arctic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 3: Dealing with Danger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chapter 4: Glaciers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Introduction
What are your hobbies? Do you think one of your hobbies
would make a good story? This book tells about a special
woman and her unusual hobby. Her name was Louise Arner
Boyd. Her hobby was exploring Arctic lands and glaciers.
A glacier is a huge area of ice.
Why was Boyd’s hobby unusual?
First, Boyd was born in California.
That’s very far from the Arctic.
Second, Boyd was born
in 1887. At that time, most
women did not have hobbies
like exploring.
People didn’t know
much about the Arctic then.
It was very dangerous to
explore there. The seas in the
Arctic were full of ice. Robert
Peary was the first person to
reach the North Pole, but not
until 1909.
Louise Arner Boyd was
from a wealthy family.
3

Chapter 1
Finding the Arctic
Louise Boyd’s life was not like that of most people. Her
father owned a ranch in California. As a child, Boyd loved to
ride horses with her brothers. But her life wasn’t always happy.
Both of her brothers died in their teens. Then, when Boyd was a
young adult, both her parents died.
Boyd inherited her family’s wealth. She became head of the
family business. Boyd went to parties and the opera. She lived
like a wealthy woman was supposed to live. However, Boyd
soon grew bored of this life. So she took trips to Europe. Then,
in 1924, Boyd went to an island in the Arctic Ocean. The vast
expanse of the frigid ocean deeply moved her. She had never
seen so much open space — and she loved it.
Boyd went to the island because she was bored. When
she left, she knew she wanted to explore the Arctic. For most
people, it would be hard to make this dream come true. But
Louise Boyd was different. She did not care what other people
thought. Once she set a goal, she was determined to reach it.
With her family’s money, Boyd made her wish come true.
4

Boyd planned a big trip to the Arctic. First, she wanted
to prime herself for the trip. She got ready for the trip by
learning more about the Arctic. Boyd also learned how to
take photographs of nature. Back then, cameras were big
boxes, not like the small cameras of today. A person needed
special training to use them. Boyd also trained with a scientist.
She wanted to collect samples of plant life in the Arctic.
The Arctic Ocean is the world’s smallest ocean.
5

Chapter 2
Exploring the Arctic
In 1926, Boyd was finally ready to go. Her first trip to the
Arctic was the culmination of months of training. Boyd hired a
boat called the Hobby. Boyd planned to take photographs of the
Arctic. She also invited friends to join her on this trip.
The Hobby first sailed to Greenland, a huge island. Glaciers
cover most of this island. Boyd’s group landed on a remote, or
far-off, part of the island. Most people think Boyd was the first
woman ever to reach this place.
This map shows where
Louise Boyd explored.
6

Roald Amundsen,
1872–1928
In 1911, Amundsen became the
first person to reach the South Pole.
He raced Robert Scott to the pole.
Amundsen got there first. Scott died
in a blizzard on the way back.
Boyd loved the Arctic. Yet she was not prepared for the power
of its beauty. She was told that people who visited the Arctic
always wanted to come back. Now, she felt that way, too.
Two years later, Boyd hired the Hobby for a return trip to the
Arctic. This time, she had a new goal. Boyd asked some scientists
to go with her. Her plan was to explore the Arctic with them.
However, an emergency changed her plans. An Arctic explorer
and his team were now missing. Roald Amundsen went to look
for them. Now, Amundsen was missing, too.
Boyd sacrificed her goals to help find the missing people.
The Hobby set sail to look for them. For three months, the Hobby
sailed all over the Arctic. Harsh storms battered the ship.
7

Finally, another ship found some of the missing explorers.
But no one ever found Amundsen. Many people thanked Boyd
for trying to find the missing people.
More Arctic Journeys
Over the next few years, Boyd affirmed what she wanted
to do. She wanted to explore remote parts of the Arctic. Boyd
returned to the Arctic in 1931. This time, she hired a bigger and
more durable ship. The ship was the Veslekari. Its captain was
Johan Olson, a famous ship captain. Again, Boyd asked some
scientists to join her. Together, they would map and explore
the Arctic.
Highlights of Boyd’s Life
Sees Arctic for first time
Born in California
Runs the family business
1887 1909 1924 1926
8

Life on board the Veslekari was hard. The seas were rough.
But Boyd’s trip was a success. She and her team explored a
remote area around Greenland. No one had explored this area
before. Boyd took photographs and collected plant samples. She
and her team studied the glaciers. They also mapped the area.
Boyd reported the findings to Denmark’s government.
(Greenland is a part of Denmark.) The Danish government
surprised Boyd. It named the area Boyd found Wiesboydlund.
This name means “Miss Boyd Land” in Danish. It also named a
glacier she found “Louise” in her honor.
Makes first trip to Arctic
on the Hobby
Dies in San Francisco
Explores Greenland
on the Veslekari
Maps Arctic for U.S.
War Department
Is first woman to fly
over North Pole
1931 1941
1955 1972
9

Chapter 3
Dealing with Danger
Boyd and her team returned to the Arctic in 1933. This trip
did not go well. Some of the equipment needed repairs. This
delayed Boyd and her team. They left for the Arctic two weeks
later than planned. It was August when they left, but the Arctic
seas could freeze now. If they did freeze, it could trap the ship.
On September 3, trouble hit. The Veslekari became stuck.
All the trip’s participants knew what could happen. There were
no other ships nearby. If the Veslekari did not free itself, the ice
would close in and crush the ship. The team could not survive
an Arctic winter.
10

The team unloaded supplies off the ship. They placed food,
coal, and water on the ice. Captain Olson deduced that if the
ship weighed less, it might float free. But unloading did not
help. The ship stayed stuck. The ice was closing in fast.
Captain Olson had one last plan. He used the ship’s ropes
and chains. He tied them around a nearby iceberg. He waited
for high tide. Then, he gave the order for full engine power. All
on board held their breath. Captain Olson’s plan worked! The
ship pulled free. It made it back to port safely.
Boyd made more trips in 1937 and 1938. She learned more
about the Arctic each time. After her trips, Boyd wrote books
about them. Then, in 1939, war started in Europe. The U.S.
government wanted to learn more about the Arctic.
Arctic ice can trap ships.
11

The U.S. War Department hired Boyd. She told them all she
knew about the Arctic. They asked her to plan another trip to
Greenland. The trip’s purpose was a big secret.
Boyd pretended to study radio waves in the Arctic.
Actually, she and her team mapped the sea ice. They mapped
areas where it was safe for ships to travel. The military needed
this information for its ships. The trip was a big success. Boyd
worked for the U.S. government for the rest of the war.
A First
After the war, Boyd knew her days of sea travel in the
Arctic were over. She was about 60 years old then. But she still
had one more adventure left. Boyd hired a plane to take her
over the North Pole. She became the first woman ever to fly
over the North Pole.
Boyd died in 1972. People remember her as a person of
adventure. She set her own goals and worked hard to reach
them. She used her family money to live a full life.
12

Chapter 4
Glaciers
Newspapers of her time called Boyd the “Ice Woman.”
She shared what she learned about glaciers. She helped people
understand how glaciers form and move. This was one of her
gifts to the world.
Boyd knew that glaciers are very important to the Earth.
They cover about 10 percent of all the land on Earth. Glaciers
hold about 75 percent of all the fresh water on Earth. Glaciers
exist all over the world. Most of them are near the North and
South poles.
Glaciers need a certain climate to grow. They grow where
there are snowy winters and cool summers. In these places,
more snow falls in the winter than melts in the summer. This
type of climate exists in high mountain areas. It also exists near
the North and South poles.
Glaciers form when snow can build up over time. Snow
that lasts more than one year is called firn. Firn turns into ice
for glaciers when new snow presses on top of it. This ice often
looks blue.
13

How Glacier Ice Forms
Snowflake
Granular Snow
Glacier Ice
Firn
How Glaciers Move
Did you know that glaciers move? It’s true! Glaciers move
very slowly. They are the equivalent of, or like, a frozen river.
A glacier takes a year to move as far as you can walk in just a
few minutes.
Glaciers start to move because they are so heavy. The
force of gravity helps them move. Gravity gives everything on
Earth weight. Glaciers also move by sliding. Water forms on the
bottom of the glacier. Cracks within the glacier can cause the
water to form. This water forms a thin layer, or film. As a result
of this film of water, the glacier slides downward.
14

As a glacier moves, it changes size and shape. Deep cracks
in the glacier can also form. These cracks can be very dangerous
for people who try to climb glaciers.
How Glaciers Change the Land
Glaciers caused changes to the land in the United States.
These changes took place thousands of years ago. Back then,
huge glaciers covered a lot of the United States. As the glaciers
formed and moved, they changed the land.
For example, glaciers can cause lakes to form. Glaciers
created the five Great Lakes. Glaciers also created the Finger
Lakes in New York and Lake Champlain, which divides New
York and Vermont. People call Minnesota the “Land of 10,000
Lakes.” Glaciers created most of those lakes, too! Glaciers also
formed large valleys. Yosemite Valley in California is one
example.
Glaciers can also leave a big mess behind when they move.
This mess is called a moraine. A mix of soil and rocks make up
most moraines. Some rocks are small. Others are large boulders!
15

Landforms Made by Glaciers
Landform Definition
moraine
rocks and soil carried and then left behind by glaciers
drumlin
esker
kettle
a long narrow hill
a long winding ridge of sand and gravel
a hole made by a glacier that becomes a lake
moraine
drumlin
esker
16
kettle

Threats to Glaciers
Global warming is the heating of Earth over time.
Scientists think that it is getting hotter on Earth now. Pollution
in the air around Earth is the likely cause. Cars and factories
make most of this pollution.
Global warming hurts glaciers. As Earth heats up, glaciers
melt. All this melting ice can cause sea levels to rise. In the
future, some islands and coastal areas might flood. They might
even end up underwater.
Much of the Arctic looks different now than when Boyd
saw it. Summers are warmer. Glaciers are melting. As a result,
glaciers are shrinking. Boyd helped teach the world about the
importance of glaciers. How can we help stop the threats to the
Arctic that she so loved?
The photo on the left shows a glacier in 1941. The photo on the
right shows the same glacier in 2004. See how much it has melted.
17

Index
A
Amundsen, Roald, 7–8
B
Boyd, Louise Arner, 3–13, 17
childhood, 4
and glaciers, 3, 6, 9, 13, 17
and the Hobby, 6–7
and U.S. War Department, 12
and the Veslekari, 8–11
D
Denmark, 9
G
Glaciers, 3, 6, 9, 13–17
changes to land by, 15–16
formation of, 13–14
movement of, 14–15
threats to, 17
N
North Pole, 3, 12, 13
O
Olson, Captain Johan, 8, 11
P
Peary, Robert, 3
V
Veslekari, 8–11
W
Wiesboydlund (Miss Boyd Land), 9
Greenland, 6, 9, 12
H
Hobby, 6–7, 9
18

Responding
TARGET SKILL Main Ideas and
Details What details from the book explain
why Boyd is called an explorer? Copy and
complete the diagram below.
? ?
Why is Boyd
called an explorer?
She was the first
woman to fly over
the North Pole.
?
Write About It
Text to World What can be done to help stop
glaciers from melting? Write a paragraph about
how best to protect glaciers.
19

TARGET VOCABULARY
affirmed
culmination
deduced
durable
equivalent
expanse
frigid
participants
prime
sacrificed
TARGET SKILL Main Ideas and Details Identify
a topic’s important ideas and supporting details.
TARGET STRATEGY Monitor/Clarify As you read,
notice what isn’t making sense. Find ways to figure
out the parts that are confusing.
GENRE Biography tells about events in a person’s life,
written by another person.
Write About It
In a famous quotation, Aung San Suu Kyi said,
“Please use your freedom to promote ours.”
What freedoms do you value most? Why? Write
a letter to the editor of a Burmese newspaper
explaining the freedoms you have and why they
are important to you.
20

Level: U
DRA: 44
Genre:
Biography
Strategy:
Monitor/Clarify
Skill:
Main Ideas and Details
Word Count: 2,110
6.3.13
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
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