Antarctica

The ice-covered continent of Antarctica lies in the very bottom of our planet. The nearest neighbor is 1000 km away, the island of Tierra del Fuego in South America's most southern tip. It is 3500 km from Australia and 4000 km from Africa, making Antarctica the most isolated continent on Earth.Antarctica is located mostly in the Antarctic Circle which is defined as the area south of 66 degrees 33'S. Here, the sun never sets or comes out of the horizon for at least a day every year.As you near the South Pole, the period of them happening gets longer, and at 90 degrees S, the sun shines half of the year, and stays under the horizon for the rest.Antarctica is bordered by the waters often known as the Antarctic Ocean(or Southern Ocean).Here the southern parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Indian oceans meet.Scientists define the northern limit of the Antarctic Ocean near the center of the Antarctic Convergence.This is a band of water, 40 km in width, where cold waters of the south meets the warm, saltier waters of the north at around 50 degrees S.The total area of Antarctica is 14,000,000 square km, making it the third smallest continent beside Europe and Australia.The amazing thing is, the waters of the Arctic Ocean covers just about the same area at the North Pole.The continent and ocean having the same area in two opposite poles-- is it just a coincidence or a mystery yet to be solved?

There are 4 important poles to know in Antarctica: South Pole- Located at 90 degrees S and in a longitude that could not be described (all the longitude lines meet here), this pole is no doubt a geographical pole of the Earth, where the Earth's axis meet its surface. South Magnetic Pole- The Earth could be described as a big magnet, and this pole is where the compass needle points to as its South (in Southern Hemisphere only).In 1965, it was at 66.5 degrees S, 139.9 degrees E.Now it is at 68 degrees S, 143 degrees E and still moving around at a rate of about 10 km per year. South Geomagnetic Pole- Although Earth is a magnet, the North and South magnetic poles are not in a symmetrical position unlike a bar magnet.At around 78.6 degrees S, 110.0 degrees E, this pole is where the compass needle would show for south when using it in the northern hemisphere. (note: in the northern hemisphere, the compass will be attracted to the North magnetic pole; thus the other end of the needle is the South Geomagnetic Pole) Unreachable Pole- This pole exists only in the South Pole.As you can imagine from the name, it is the point in Antarctica farthest from all the coastline, thus making it hardest to reach.Located at 82.3 degrees S, 65.7 degrees E, it is on top of an ice sheet 4300 meters high and has one of the harshest natural environment on Earth.

Antarctica covers about 14,000,000 square kilometers and is larger in area than either Europe or Australia- and it's all because of the vast ice cap that covers 98% of the continent's surface.So, what would Antarctica look like if the ice was all gone?For one, it would be the smallest continent on Earth.But like the other lands, Antarctica would also have its share of mountains, plateaus, and valleys, too.Although not all of them are invisible to our eyes now, let's take a look at some of the physical features of this one and only continent- Antarctica. The continent of Antarctica is made up of two regions: the East Antarctica (often called the Greater Antarctica) and the West Antarctica (or the Lesser Antarctica).They are divided by the Transantarctic Mountains which crosses the entire continent from the Weddel to the Ross seas, covering an area of about 3,500 km long and 100 to 300 km wide.The biggest difference between the two regions is that the East Antarctica, could no doubt be called a continent, whereas the West Antarctica is a collection of islands held together by the massive ice cap.It is also known that the East and West has a difference in their geographic formation as well.The land of the East, with a region consisting of rocks that are more than 570 million years old, is older than that of the West where all the active volcanoes of Antarctica are found. read more