What makes Antarctica a unique place?

What makes Antarctica a unique place?

Cold facts. Antarctica is unique among the continents for being almost totally covered by glacier ice. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet occupies a smaller area of land within the Western Hemisphere and is flanked by the Weddell Sea on one side and the Ross Sea on the other.

How does Antarctica compared to other countries?

Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, and bigger than most countries. In fact, the only country on earth with more surface area than Antarctica is Russia, which beats it by about a million square miles.

What are 2 famous landmarks in Antarctica?

The following are some of the most popular historical monuments found in Antarctica that you may see on a guided Antarctic cruise:

• Whaling station on Deception Island.
• Nuclear power plant.
• Charcot’s cairn.
• Site of ice cave.
• Amundsen’s tent.
• Terra Nova hut.
• Lenin’s bust.

What is unique and typical about Antarctica?

Antarctica is the only place where the land isn’t owned by anyone. 60% of world’s fresh water is in the Antarctica’s ice sheet. In some places of Antarctica, the ice is over 4 km thick and that’s half the height of Mount Everest! The present temperature in Antarctica right now is -80 degrees.

What is so special about Antarctica?

Antarctica is the world’s highest, driest, windiest and coldest continent. Its record low temperature is -94°C. But it doesn’t actually snow much – the Antarctic is so dry it’s classed as a polar desert.

What are the unique birds in Antarctica?

Birds of the South: 33 Antarctic Birds and Seabirds

• Wandering albatross.
• Southern royal albatross.
• Tristan albatross.
• Black-browed albatross.
• Light-mantled albatross.
• Antarctic petrel.
• Snow petrel.
• Blue petrel.

What are the top 3 largest continents?

Continents by Area

Rank	Continent	Square Miles
1	Asia	17,139,445
2	Africa	11,677,239
3	North America	9,361,791
4	South America	6,880,706

What are three landmarks in Antarctica?

Top 25 wonders of Antarctica

• Airdevronsix icefall. Antarctica. Giant, approximately 5 km wide and 400 m tall icefall.
• Mount Erebus. Antarctica.
• Blood Falls. Antarctica.
• McMurdo Dry Valleys. Antarctica.
• Warren icefall. Antarctica.
• Lake Vanda. Antarctica.
• Cape Renard. Antarctica.
• Katabatic winds at Commonwealth Bay. Antarctica.

What is unique about the South Pole?

The South Pole is the southernmost point on the Earth. This elevation makes the South Pole much colder than the North Pole, which sits in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. In fact, the warmest temperature ever recorded at the South Pole was a freezing -12.3 degrees Celsius (9.9 degrees Fahrenheit).

What’s the difference between Antarctica and the Antarctic region?

• The population of Antarctic and Antarctica is limited to the research teams that inhabit the area. As you can see, Antarctic is a region while Antarctica is a continent situated in the Antarctic region.

Why is Antarctica the fifth largest continent in the world?

Antarctica is geographically unique in that it has no permanent borders or constant size. Although it is the fifth largest continent overall, its exact size in square miles varies according to the season. The change can be quite dramatic.

What do you need to know about Antarctica?

1 The continent that doubles in size. Antarctica was first sighted by humans just 200 years ago. 2 Home to the largest mammal ever known. Despite its hostile conditions, it is home for some animals including the largest mammal ever known to exist on Earth, the blue whale. 3 Two seasons instead of four.

Are there any countries that live in Antarctica?

Antarctica is a unique continent in that it does not have a native population. There are no countries in Antarctica, although seven nations claim different parts of it: New Zealand, Australia, France, Norway, the United Kingdom, Chile, and Argentina. The Antarctic also includes island territories within the Antarctic Convergence.