Antarctica

Situated in the southern hemisphere, Antarctica is the southernmost continent on our planet Earth. Out of the seven continents, Antarctica is the fifth largest in area. Owing to extreme weather conditions in the region, there is no human population there. The living organisms here include cold-adapted plants and animals. The name ‘Antarctica’ is a Romanized version of Greek compound word, ‘Antarktike’, which means ‘opposite of the Arctic’. The continent is not governed by any specific country, rather by the Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959 by twelve countries. Today, the treaty has been signed by forty five countries. The main aim of the treaty is to prohibit military activities and mineral mining, while supporting scientific research and protecting the continent's ecozone.


Antarctica is the coldest continent on earth, as the lowest temperature recorded here was -89o C. On an average, it is 17 degrees colder than Arctic in the north.
It is the driest continent on earth, as it hardly receives 2 inches of rainfall annually. The ‘Dry valley’ region on the continent is supposed to be bereft of rainfall since 2 million years.
The continent of Antarctica is buried under 1 mile of ice sheet and snow. If the ice melts, the continent would spring back 500 m, in around 1000 years.
If Antarctica's ice sheets melt, the level of the world’s oceans would rise by 60 to 65 meters (200 - 210 ft).
Antarctica is the ideal place to find meteorites, as they are easily visible on the white sheets of ice. They do not get covered by vegetation and even get trapped into the ice.
Antarctica is one and a half times the size of United States.
At the deepest point, the ice in Antarctica is around 3 - 4 km thick.
The largest animal living on the continent is midge, which measure less than a half inch long.
Antarctica is the windiest continent on earth. It experiences frequent wind storms, which at times speed over 300 knots at the sea coast.
The water of the Antarctica is so cold that nothing can rot here.
Owing to the chilly water in Antarctica, codfish have antifreeze in their blood to save them from freezing.
The ice cap at Antarctic contains 29 million cubic kilometers of ice. This constitutes nearly 90% of all the ice on the planet and between 60 - 70% of all of the fresh water in the world.
Only 0.4 percent of Antarctica is not covered by ice.
Antarctica is the highest continent in elevation.

everyone must watch- "the march of the penguins"