I have always been fascinated by this icy,windswept and remote continent. Here are some really interesting facts about it:-
1)Antarctica is the highest, driest, windiest, emptiest, coldest place on earth.
2)An ice sheet covers all but 2.4 percent of Antarctica’s 14 million square kilometers.
3)There are lots of penguins, whales, seals, krill (the main food for whales), and even fish in Antarctica’s waters, but there are no land mammals and, as far as scientists know, no native peoples.
4)Eskimos and polar bears are found in the ARCTIC, not Antarctica.
5)The area below 60 degrees south enjoys one long day and one long night each year. The sun sets in March and rises in
6)Scientists work on all kinds of unique projects in Antarctica, including penguins, Antarctic cod (they have a special antifreeze agent in their blood!), whales, seals, global warming, climatology, meteorites, glaciology, astronomy, volcanoes, UV radiation, and more. Scientists also study humans in Antarctica, doing research on how the human body adapts to cold and how the human mind and heart react to extreme isolation.
7)The Antarctic continent wasn’t even actually seen until 1820. No man set foot in Antarctica until 1895. The first human landing there is claimed by Henryk Bull, with a party from a whaling ship. They landed at Cape Adare . It was 1935 before the first woman set foot there. Her name was Catherine Mikkelson, and she was the wife of a Norwegian whaling captain. The South Pole was first reached by a Norwegian named Roald Amundsen in 1911, and shortly after by British explorer Robert Scott.
8)Most tourists who visit Antarctica visit the Antarctic Peninsula, which is accessible from Chile. There the climate is mild in comparison with the rest of the continent, and is teaming with wildlife. This part of Antarctica is sometimes called the “Banana Belt.”
9)All warm-blooded animals living on and around Antarctica–whales, seals, sea birds, penguins–rely on thick layers of blubber to insulate them from the cold. The layer of blubber on a Weddell seal can be up to 4.
– Misbaah Mansuri
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