tell about antarctica in just 10 points?
Answers
1. The first confirmed sighting of the continent was in 1820.
2. Explorers first reached the South Pole in 1911.
3. Because Antarctica lies in the southern hemisphere, seasons there are the opposite of seasons in the north — summer runs from October to February and winter covers the remainder of the year.
4. Antarctica is the coldest continent; temperatures in the winter can drop below –73°C (-100°F).
5. The lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth was at Russia’s Vostok Station in Antarctica: -89.2°C (-128.6°F) on 21st July, 1983.
6. Antarctica is the driest continent; it is almost entirely desert. Very little snow or rain falls on the continent, but because it is so cold, the small amount of precipitation that doe fall does not melt.
7. The ice can be more than 4 km thick in some places. This ice flows off the continent and creates floating ice shelves over the ocean; these shelves break up and create icebergs. If Antarctica’s ice sheets melted, the world’s oceans would rise by 60-65 meters.
8. About 70% of Earth’s fresh water is in the Antarctic ice cap.
9. There are no countries in Antarctica; the continent is governed by an international treaty (the Antarctic Treaty).
10. There are no permanent residents. But up to 1,000 people may be wintering over at various research stations.
⇒Antartica is southern most continent of Earth.
⇒It is totally ice covered region.
⇒It's Area is 14 million km²
⇒It's population is about 5000 who are temporary residents.
⇒It is situated in the Antartic region of Southern hemisphere.
⇒It is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents.
⇒Antarctica is divided in two by the Transantarctic Mountains close to the neck between the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea. The portion west of the Weddell Sea and east of the Ross Sea is called West Antarctica and the remainder East Antarctica, because they roughly correspond to the Western and Eastern Hemispheres relative to the Greenwich meridian.
⇒Due to its location at the South Pole, Antarctica receives relatively little solar radiation hence it is a cold continent.
⇒There is no Antarctic currency but they use dollars.
⇒Antarctica is the fifth largest continent.
Hope it helps