Beached!

On this day in 1834, with the HMS Beagle moored in the Rio Santa Cruz, Charles Darwin set out on 'Expedition no. 5' to discover the source of the aforementioned river.  During her voyage the Beagle had suffered some minor damage to her keel and  copper sheets, which would be repaired while a group of 25 went on the expedition.

The expedition did not reach its goal due to a lack of rations, but it provided Darwin with considerable information that would help form the basis of his geological theories, in particular those on plate tectonics.

Once the HMS Beagle had been repaired she re-entered the tropical waters and the expedition continued towards the Magdalen Channel.

This scene was built by James Pegrum as part of a series of models on world history. ​Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see them first.