FACTS ABOUT ANTARCTICA

Antarctica is the coldest continent on earth, as the lowest temperature recorded here was -89o C. On an average, it is 17 degrees colder than Arctic in the north.


The coldest temperature ever measured on Earth was -129 Fahrenheit (-89 Celsius) at Vostok, Antarctica, on July 21, 1983.


The continent was discovered in 1820 by a Russian expedition, but was not further explored to any serious extent for another 100 years. 


 No permanent human residents are known to have ever lived on the continent and even today only temporary scientific communities exist. 


It is the driest continent on earth, as it hardly receives 2 inches of rainfall annually.  The ‘Dry valley’ region on the continent is supposed to be bereft of rainfall since 2 million years.


The continent of Antarctica is buried under 1 mile of ice sheet and snow. If the ice melts, the continent would spring back 500 m, in around 1000 years.


If Antarctica's ice sheets melt, the level of the world’s oceans would rise by 60 to 65 meters (200 - 210 ft).


Antarctica is the ideal place to find meteorites, as they are easily visible on the white sheets of ice. They do not get covered by vegetation and even get trapped into the ice.


Antarctica is one and a half times the size of United States.


At the deepest point, the ice in Antarctica is around 3 - 4 km thick.


The largest animal living on the continent is midge, which measure less than a half inch long.


Antarctica is the windiest continent on earth. It experiences frequent wind storms, which at times speed over 300 knots at the sea coast.


The water of the Antarctica is so cold that nothing can rot here.


Owing to the chilly water in Antarctica, codfish have antifreeze in their blood to save them from freezing.


The ice cap at Antarctic contains 29 million cubic kilometers of ice. This constitutes nearly 90% of all the ice on the planet and between 60 - 70% of all of the fresh water in the world.


Only 0.4 percent of Antarctica is not covered by ice.


Antarctica is the highest continent in elevation.


The Antarctic ice sheet is 3-4 km thick, covers 13 million sq km and has temperatures as low as -70 degrees centigrade.


The world's windiest place is Commonwealth Bay, Antartica with winds regularly exceeding 150 miles per hour.


Antarctica is the highest, driest, and coldest continent on Earth.


The continent is the only natural habitat of the Emperor Penguin, immortalized in the movie March of the Penguins. The penguin, however, also is found on the shoreline of some southern continents from time to time. 


The continent has no government and is not owned by any country. Many countries have claimed the continent at one time or another. Currently, a treaty exists that grants the continent its independence from any such claims.