27 Facts About Antarctica

Antarctica is on average the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation.

Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, -89.

Ice shelves of Antarctica were probably first seen in 1820, during a Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev.

Antarctica is governed by about 30 countries, all of which are parties of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty System.

Antarctica was adopted in the 1890s, with the first use of the name being attributed to the Scottish cartographer John George Bartholomew.

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The vast majority of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, which averages 1.

East Antarctica is largely covered by the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.

West Antarctica was partially in the Northern Hemisphere, and during the time, large amounts of sandstones, limestones, and shales were deposited.

East Antarctica was at the equator, where seafloor invertebrates and trilobites flourished in the tropical seas.

Antarctica became glaciated during the Late Paleozoic icehouse beginning at the end of the Devonian period, though glaciation would substantially increase during the late Carboniferous.

West Antarctica was formed by the merging of several continental plates, which created a number of mountain ranges in the region, the most prominent being the Ellsworth Mountains.

Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and driest of Earth's continents.

East Antarctica is colder than its western counterpart because of its higher elevation.

Conversely, the South Pole, located in East Antarctica, barely warmed during much of the 20th century, but temperatures rose three times the global average between 1990 and 2020.

Precipitation in Antarctica occurs in the form of snow, which accumulates and forms the giant ice sheet that covers the continent.

The average extent of sea ice around Antarctica has changed little since satellites began to observe the Earth's surface in 1978; which is in contrast with the Arctic, where there has been rapid sea ice loss.

The ozone hole above Antarctica is predicted to slowly disappear; by the 2060s, levels of ozone are expected to have returned to values last recorded in the 1980s.

Invertebrate life of Antarctica includes species of microscopic mites such as Alaskozetes antarcticus, lice, nematodes, tardigrades, rotifers, krill and springtails.

The ocean around Antarctica is visited by various other bird species, including some that normally reside in the Arctic.

The first documented landing on Antarctica was by the American sealer John Davis, apparently at Hughes Bay on 7 February 1821, although some historians dispute this claim, as there is no evidence Davis landed on the Antarctic continent rather than an offshore island.

Antarctica's expeditions conducted extensive geographical and scientific research, and he is credited with surveying a larger region of the continent than any other explorer.

Continent of Antarctica has never had a permanent resident population, although staffed research stations are continuously maintained.

Antarctic Treaty prohibits any military activity in Antarctica, including the establishment of military bases and fortifications, military manoeuvres, and weapons testing.

Antarctica's status is regulated by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and other related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System.

Antarctica is defined as all land and ice shelves south of 60° S for the purposes of the Treaty System.

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New claims on Antarctica have been suspended since 1959, although in 2015 Norway formally defined Queen Maud Land as including the unclaimed area between it and the South Pole.

Antarctica provides a unique environment for the study of meteorites: the dry polar desert preserves them well, and meteorites older than a million years have been found.