In 1845, two ships set out from England to explore the Canadian Arctic, locate a northern route to China, and gather geomagnetic data. Both ships and all 129 men aboard disappeared. Despite multiple rescue missions over the next dozen years, no one was ever located or saved. This site, from the University of Victoria, traces the unsolved mystery that befell the crews of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. After perusing the gloss on the homepage, readers will want to search the various historical documents that present the fragmented story of this long ago tragedy. For instance, Franklin's Last Voyage uses a mix of historical documents and contemporary narrative to piece together the chain of events that led to the disappearance. Searching and Researching, meanwhile, unravels the mystery further through the first hand accounts of the various expeditions that went looking for the original crew. The Ripples and Ice Jams and Interpretations sections also provide rich narratives.