1 December 2016 Happy Antarctica Day!

25 Fun Facts about Antarctica

In honor of Antarctica Day (today!), I thought I’d share with you a list of 25 fun facts that I’ve learned about Antarctica so far.

A view of Mt. Erebus from the sea ice near McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Photo by Gary Wesche (PolarTREC 2009/2010), Courtesy of ARCUS.

1. Antarctica is one and a half times the size of the United States.
2. No one nation owns Antarctica.
3. According to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, nuclear and military action is prohibited in Antarctica. 53 nations follow this treaty.
4. Antarctica is the largest desert in the world!
5. The coldest place on earth is the Soviet Vostok Station, reaching -128.6F in July 1983.
6. The highest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica was 63.5F at Hope Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula in March 2015.
7. According to the British Antarctic Survey, 90% of the world’s fresh water is in Antarctica.
8. Aristotle first postulated that there must be a large land mass at the bottom of the earth in order to balance out all the land in the northern hemisphere.
9. Antarctica was first called “Anti-Arctos,” the counterpart to Arctos, the “Great Bear” constellation seen in the Northern Hemisphere.
10. The Drake Passage, the water between the Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula, is known for its rough seas, with swells reaching up to 30 ft in the summer.
11. Antarctica is the only continent without reptiles.
12. There are about 300 lakes below the surface of Antarctica. They don’t freeze because of the warmth of the Earth’s core.
13. The southernmost active volcano on Earth, Mount Erebus, is on Ross Island, right next to McMurdo Station. (see the picture above)
14. Ants have colonized almost every land on earth, except Antarctica and a few remote islands.
15. Emilio Palma is the first documented person to be born in Antarctica in January 1978.
16. Winds in some places of Antarctica can reach up to 200 mph.
17. 90% of meteorites ever found have come from Antarctica.
18. There are no polar bears in Antarctica, only the Arctic.
19. Antarctica has one ATM.
20. No sitting U.S. president has ever visited Antarctica.
21. Sea levels would rise an estimated 200ft if all the ice in Antarctica were to melt.
22. The first confirmed sighting of Antarctica was 1820.
23. Antarctica is the 5th largest continent after Asia, Africa, North American and South America.
24. The average thickness of Antarctic ice is about 1 mile.
25. The highest point on Antarctica is the Vinson Massif at 16,362 ft.

More Fun Facts

Know a fun fact about Antarctica that I missed? Post it in the comments below!

Fly Your Flag at the South Pole Contest

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Happy Antarctica Day everyone!