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Quick Antarctic Statistics
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Area:
1.4 times bigger than the USA, 58 times
bigger than the UK |
13,829,430 km2
5,339,543 miles2 |
Ice-free area
(0.32% of total) |
44,890 km2
17,330 miles2 |
| Largest Ice
Shelves |
Ross ice shelf:
(about the size of France)
510,680 km2
197,974 miles2 |
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Ronne-Filchner ice shelf:
(about the size of Spain)
439,920 km2
169,850 miles2 |
| Mountains |
Transantarctic Mountain
chain:
3,300 km
2,050 miles |
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Highest 3 mountains:
Mt. Vinson - 4,892 m / 16,050 ft
(sometimes called "Vinson Massif")
Mt. Tyree - 4,852 m / 15,918 ft
Mt. Shinn - 4,661 m / 15,292 ft |
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Ice Antarctica
has 70% of all the world's freshwater frozen as ice - and 90% of
all the world's ice.
M km3 - Million cubic kilometres
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Thickness
Mean
1,829 m / 6,000 ft
Mean thickness East Antarctica:
2,226 m / 7,300 ft
Mean thickness West Antarctica:
1,306 m / 4,285 ftMaximum ice thickness:
4,776 m / 15,670ft
Lowest point - Bentley subglacial trench,
depth below sea-level
2,496 m / 8,188 ft
Volume
Total:
25.4 M km3 / 6.09 M miles3
Grounded ice sheets
24.7 M km3 / 5.93 M miles3
Ice shelves:
0.7 M km3 / 0.17 M miles3
Peninsula ice:
0.1 M km3 / 0.024 M miles3
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Population |
About 4,000 on scientific bases in the short
summer 1,000 total in winter, around 25,000 summer
tourists - and this place is 1.4 x bigger than the USA! There are
NO permanent residents and NO native population. |
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Discovery and Exploration |
Antarctica was imagined by the ancient Greeks, but
not even seen until 1820. The first
time anyone set foot on Antarctica was in 1821.
The first year-round occupation - overwintering
- was in 1898.
The South Pole was first reached in 1911.
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Climate |
3 factors rule in Antarctica - cold, wind and
altitude. Antarctica holds the world record for each of these
three things. The temperature falls as you
leave the coast as the continent slopes upwards and temperature
falls as you go higher.
Temperature:
Lowest recoded on earth - Vostok station -89.2°C / -128.6°F
Average summer temperature at South Pole -27.5°C / -17.5°F
Average winter temperature at South Pole -60°C / -76°F
Wind:
Mawson station in Antarctica is the windiest place on earth.
Average wind speed:
37 kmh / 23 mph
Maximum recorded gust:
248.4 kmh / 154 mph
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| Landforms |
Antarctica has many
landforms - it's a continent! But for the benefit of your
geography teacher, here's a few main ones:
glacier
coral reef #
desert
mountain
plain
plateau
valley
nunatak
# - this is a lie |
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