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ANTARCTICA FACTS
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Antarctica contains 70% of the earth’s fresh water in form of ice.
29 million cubic kilometres / 6,000,000 cubic. miles. If it has melted
the oceans would rise with approximately 60 - 70 metres. The average
ice thickness is about 2,000 metres / 6,500 feet.
Antarctica is divided in two parts (East and West Antarctica) by the
3000 km / 1,900-mile-long Trans Antarctic Mountains. It is a range of
mountains that stretches across the entire continent, but large parts
of them is buried under the ice.
There is no indigenous population, but during the summer several
thousand people live there in research and weather stations. During
the winter there are about 1000 persons at different scientific
stations. Cruise tourism is picking up, but is only situated at some
few coastal points. Mainly on the Antarctica Peninsula
Chile in South America is the closest country to Antarctica. It is
1,238 km from Ushuaia, at the tip of Chile, to the Argentinean
station, Vice Comodoro Marambio, at the tip of the Antarctic
Peninsula.
At the Cape Denison headquarters of the Australasian Antarctic
Expedition of 1911 to 1914, the average year-round wind speed was
nearly 80 km/h, and in June and July the average speed was 120 km/h.
(All data are approx. when there are big data/facts variations from
different institutions) .
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| FACTS:
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- 5th biggest continent, 14 Mill. Sq.
km. (1,5 x bigger than the USA, 40 times bigger than Norway
- 98 % of the continent is covered of ice.
- Coldest continent: Average temp - 49C/ - 56F
at South Pole / - 55C/-67F at Vostok
- Lowest measured temperature: – 89,6C /
128,6F, at Vostok station.
- Highest continent, with an average elevation of the icecap
2,500 m / 8200 feet
- Highest point is Mt. Vinson Massif at 5,139 m / 16,855 feet
- Lowest point: Bentley Sub glacial Trench -2,555 m / - 8430
feet
- The windiest continent. Maximum measured 320 km/h or 90 m/s at
Adelie Coast.
- Driest continent, with less than 50 mm precipitation a year.
Big difference coast - inland
- Max ice thickness: Measured to 4,780 m in Wilkes Land.
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