Case file · Anomaly hotspot
The Crocker Land expedition finds a mirage
In April 1914 Donald MacMillan's expedition crossed the sea ice in search of Crocker Land and saw hills, valleys and snow-capped peaks ahead, which vanished as the sun moved: a mirage.
1914 CE · 82.50, -95.00 · status: explained
The account
MacMillan's Inuit guide Piugaattoq told him from the start it was poo-jok, mist. The expedition stayed stranded in Greenland until 1917. During it, Fitzhugh Green shot Piugaattoq dead in a dispute, a killing that went unpunished.
Connections in the atlas
- Peary sights 'Crocker Land'
- The castles of Morgan le Fay over the Strait of Messina