Basic information on Antarctica

 Antarctica is fifth in size among the world's continents. Lying almost concentrically around the South Pole, its landmass is almost wholly covered by a vast ice sheet. It covers about 5.5 million square miles (14.2 million square kilometres), and would be essentially circular except for the outflaring Antarctic Peninsula, which reaches toward the southern tip of South America (some 600 miles [970 kilometres] away). Antarctica is divided in two parts (East and West Antarctica) by the 1,900-mile-long Transantartic Mountains.

   The continental ice sheet contains approximately 7 million cubic miles (30 million cubic kilometres) of ice, representing about 90 percent of the world's total. The average thickness is about 6,500 feet (2,000 metres). Climate is icy and the lowest registered temperature has been -97,2° Celsius. From 1959, international agreement, the Antarctic Treaty, signed by 12 nations, preserver the continent for nonmilitary scientific pursuit.

General data:

Area 14.107.637 Km²
 Highest Mountain:Vinson Massif   5140 m

 Antarctica

 Antarctica is the fifth largest continent and lies entirely within the Southern Hemisphere. It has the coldest climate on earth. It is also the windiest place on earth. The average annual temperature inland is –70 degrees. The lowest temperature ever recorded on earth was in the Antarctic, an incredible 128.5 degrees below zero. Now that is cold! Cold can do strange things. If you drop a solid steel bar it will shatter. That is one of the reasons that humans cannot live there.

 There is no indigenous (native) population, but during the summer several thousand people live there in research and weather stations. In the winter only a very few brave scientists stay. James Cook was the first explorer known to cross the Antarctic Circle, in January 1773. He didn’t see any land, though. Land was probably first spotted by Admiral Fabian von Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazerev 47 years later, in January 1820. John Davis, captain of an American sealer, was the first person known to set foot on Antarctica. He landed at a place called Hughes Bay in February 1821. Hughes Bay is on a Peninsula. Many people claim that the first people to land on the true continent were Leonard Kristensen and Carsten Borchgrevink, in January 1895.

 Almost the entire continent is covered with ice and snow. If all of the ice were to melt, it is estimated that the sea level throughout the world would rise by 200 ft. The ice extends out into the ocean, where is it known as an Ice Shelf. The largest ice shelf, the Ross Ice Shelf, is larger than the state of Texas, covering 208,000 square miles. As the edge of the ice meets the ocean, and the warmer water, huge chunks break off forming ice floes. The ice shelves do not get smaller, though, as the ice flows, a little like water. Ice behind the shelf keeps pushing the shelf further and further, so even as pieces break off it is still huge. .The ice is formed by snow. When the snow falls it doesn’t melt. Each year more snow falls and compacts the snow below it, turning it into ice. The ice contains 70% of all the fresh water on Earth.

 When people describe Antarctica they tend to divide it into two different areas, East and West Antarctica.

 East Antarctica is made up of a platform of old rocks, with younger rocks on top. The scientists think that the platform is about 1,600 ft above sea level. They cannot be sure, because it is covered with a layer of ice almost 6,000 feet deep, so measuring the exact height of the land is almost impossible. Without the snow and ice it would be a large flat plain with two main mountain ranges, one on the coast and one inland

 West Antarctica is south of South America. The land in West Antarctica doesn’t reach as high, and in some places is well below sea level. All of the ice causes the land to be pushed down. If it all melted the land would rise. East Antarctica would be mostly above sea level, but West Antarctica would be made of islands in a sea. The highest parts would form the islands and the lower parts would form the sea floor. The highest peak is found in West Antarctica, called Vinson Massif. It is on the coast and is 16,000 ft.

 There are a few areas with no ice. These can be found on the coast and slopes of the mountains. On warm days the rock heats up and melts the surrounding ice and snow. As the water runs off, it goes down into cracks in the rocks. Out of the reach of the sun it freezes again and expands, cracking parts of the rock away. All of the areas with no ice have piles of boulders and rocks formed in this way.

 There are two known active volcanoes in Antarctica. There may be more, but only two have peaks above the ice. The highest is called Mount Erebus. It is in East Antarctica on the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf. It is strange to think of an active volcano beside all that ice.

Early explores in Antarctica

 Although the Ancient Greeks had believed that there was land to the far South, they had absolutely no proof of it. The very first proof came in January 1773. At that time, Sir James Cook, a British explorer, crossed the Antarctic Circle. His expedition did not see land, but they did see rocks in some of the icebergs they passed. The presence of the rocks meant that there must be land. He sailed his ship right around Antarctica but could not get close enough to spot land. Massive sheets of ice prevented him from getting any closer.

Following James Cook more and more explorers ventured into the Antarctic Circle. Antarctica wasn’t going to be easy to discover, though. It took almost another 50 years before anyone actually spotted land. Fabian von Bellingshausen was probably the first person to see the continent of Antarctica. He was a captain in the Russian navy. He spotted it in January 1820; 47 years after Cook said it was there. He also sailed around the continent. Because he had larger, stronger ships than Cook, he was able to push further south. He described the land as a field of ice covered with small hills.

Cook had said that he thought no benefit could be had from Antarctica. The Russians thought the same. Bellinghausen returned to Russia and never returned to Antarctica.

News of Bellinghausen’s sighting didn’t reach many people at the time. Other people claimed to be the first to see it. These included an American whaling captain and two British naval officers. Most historians now agree that Bellinghausen was indeed the first person to see it.

On February 7, 1821, John Davis, became the first person to land on Antarctica. He was Captain of an American whaling ship. Some Historians claim the part he landed on is not part of the true continent, but a Peninsula, or piece jutting out.

At about the same time as Bellinghausen was making his discoveries a Scot, named James Weddell, was also discovering things about Antarctica. He took two sealing expeditions South, and discovered a sea of ice. He named it after the then King of England, George IV. Last century it was renamed the Weddell Sea.   There was a species of seal named after him, also. It took 80 more years until anyone managed to get further south than he had. No one else managed to sail through the Weddell Sea in all that time. Although he began his expedition at the same time as Bellinghausen, he didn’t reach his southerly point until three years after Bellinghausen first saw Antarctica.

Weddell’s crossing of the Weddell Sea, in 1823, marks the end of the first stage of Antarctic Exploration.

last update   on the 27th of May 2003

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