Antarctic Plateau Antarctic Plateau The Antarctic Plateau, or Polar Plateau or Haakon VII Plateau, is a large area of East Antarctica which extends over a diameter of about , and includes the region of the geographic South Pole and the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station. This huge continental plateau is at an average elevation of about high. This plateau was first sighted in 1903 during the Discovery Expedition to the Antarctic, which was led by Robert Falcon Scott. Ernest Shackleton became the first to cross parts of this plateau in 1909 during his Nimrod Expedition, which turned back in bad weather when it
Coat of arms of the British Antarctic Territory ice. The crest is a representation of the RRS "Discovery", the research ship used by Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on their first journey to the Antarctic. The motto is “Research and Discovery”, reflecting the aims of the British Antarctic Survey. The coat of arms appears in the fly of the flag of the British Antarctic Territory. Coat of arms of the British Antarctic Territory The coat of arms of the British Antarctic Territory was first granted in 1952, when the territory was still a dependency of the Falkland Islands (along with South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).