The endless snow-white desert, covered with ice and snowy rocks, is isolated from the rest of the continents. However, this is what attracts many explorers and tourists from all over the world to Antarctica.
Fact 1. There are no polar bears among the animals of Antarctica
The habitat of polar bears is the Arctic, which is located at the North Pole. But in Antarctica there are many penguins who could not exist peacefully with a polar bear. Due to the more severe frosts at the South Pole, Northern Canada, Greenland and Alaska are more suitable for polar bears in terms of climatic conditions. Although scientists increasingly began to think about their relocation to the harsh conditions of Antarctica in order to protect the population from the consequences of the gradual melting of the Arctic ice.
Fact 2. There are rivers and lakes on the mainland
The most famous river in Antarctica is Onyx, which is active only during the summer season, filling Lake Vanda with melt water. Its length is 40 km and due to polar temperatures it can be seen full-flowing only 2 months a year. There is no fish in the river, but algae and various microorganisms live that can withstand temperatures close to zero.
Fact 3. Antarctica is considered the driest region on the planet
The peculiarity of Antarctica is that with the content of 70% of all fresh water on the planet, the mainland is considered the driest. This is due to the climate of the South Pole, where only 10 cm of precipitation falls per year, which is even less than in any desert in the world.
Fact 4. There are no citizens of Antarctica
There is not a single permanent inhabitant on this icy continent. Everyone who comes here belongs to temporary scientific associations or tourists. Over the entire summer, the mainland is visited by up to 5,000 polar explorers, and in the winter season about one thousand scientists remain for research.
Fact 5. Antarctica is not ruled by any state
Antarctica is not a country and does not belong to any state. Although in the entire history of the continent, they wanted to rule and are still claiming not only Russia and the United States, but also Argentina, Australia, Great Britain, Norway, Japan and other countries both officially and unofficially. As a result of the agreement, Antarctica remained a free territory without authorities, a flag and other privileges of a modern state.
Fact 6. Antarctica is a paradise for meteorologists
Thanks to the permafrost, all meteorites that have fallen to the Earth in the Antarctic region remain for a longer time. Particles of soil from Mars have become the most significant for science. According to scientists, for such a meteorite to cross the Earth's atmosphere, its launch speed should be equal to 18 thousand km / h.
Fact 7. Antarctica exists outside of time zones
The absence of time zones in Antarctica allows polar explorers to live in their own time. Basically, all scientists check their clocks either by their own time, or by the timing of the supply of food and equipment. You can visit all time zones on the mainland in less than a minute. A similar phenomenon, which allows you to be out of time, according to the stories of the guides, can be experienced in Greenwich, having taken off the ground at the prime meridian.
Fact 8. Antarctica - the kingdom of the emperor penguins
Emperor penguins naturally live only in Antarctica. In addition to them, a third of the species of these animals are located on the mainland. However, only representatives of the species of emperor penguins can breed in a harsh winter, the rest prefer the south of the mainland after the onset of the summer season. The coastal waters of Antarctica are rich in marine life, while very few living creatures are found on land. An exception may be endemics of the region - the wingless belling mosquito Belgica antarctica 13 mm long. Due to strong winds, the existence of flying insects is impossible. The only accompanying penguins are black springtails, which resemble fleas. The uniqueness of Antarctica is also given by the fact that, unlike other continents, it does not have its own species of ants.
Fact 9. Antarctica is not threatened by global warming
Antarctica contains up to 90% of all ice on the planet, which has an average thickness of 2133 meters. With the melting of all the glaciers of the mainland, the ocean level should rise on the entire Earth by 61 meters. Due to the fact that the average temperature in Antarctica reaches minus 37 degrees, and some regions of the continent never warm to zero, it is safe to say that the melting of glaciers does not threaten this place.
Fact 10. The largest iceberg recorded in Antarctica
The huge iceberg, 295 km long and 37 km wide, has an area of 11 thousand km2. It weighs nearly 3 billion tons and has not melted since it separated from the Ross Glacier in 2000.
