The southern-most continent in the world, Antarctica is a land of mystery and wonderment. As there is almost no human habitation and the tourist visitations are also numbered, the exact type of the terrain is not widely known.
The massive and mysterious landmasses are only vaguely familiar to most people even if they are explorers and honed travelers. You are planning a trip in the penguin paradise? Be my guest. But first, know some interesting factors about the isolated beauty that has remained untouched for centuries before humans traversed the rocky lands.
- You would wonder maybe that being one of the coldest and icy continents in the entire world, Antarctica must have snow and ice all around right? Well, that is not the case here at all. Of course being the southernmost place in the south pole of course you will find ice all over the place but the place is so dry and devoid of moisture that you will be hard-pressed to look for an actual and proper accumulation of snow or ice, which leaves most of the land masses with dirt and dust blowing all over.
- Another interesting revelation could be that the landmass is not only bitterly cold for longer stays it is also one of the windiest areas in the entirety of the globe. Scientists who have been doing excavations for buried evidence of life form or other research projects say that Antarctica has one of the most places on this earth where they have worked under wind speed as severe as 200 miles per hour.
- Did you know that this southernmost continent on earth also holds the majority of freshwater in the world? The whole continent is basically a large landmass of ice with more number of smaller landmasses built of ice strewn all over the ocean surface. So, it is safe to say it is the biggest landmass consisting of ice in the world and also the majority freshwater holder on this planet. It’s 90 percent of the world’s freshwater ice, whereas, 70 percent of the world’s freshwater apart from ice.
- While we are at it, scientists also believe that in case of some global catastrophe the West Atlantic Ice sheet is to melt, it will raise sea level by at least 16 feet. That is a scary thought, isn’t it? I bet you’ll be reconsidering your usage as well as disposal of plastics from now on better after reading this article. Wink! Wink!
- Okay, so we know the tallest mountain range in the entire world, right? Is your answer Mount Everest? Bingo! But did you know that the biggest mountain range on earth lies at Antarctica itself? Yes, you heard me correctly. It is called the Gamburtsev Mountain Range and it spreads over a good 1,200 kilometers. Its highest peak is estimated to be 2,800 meters which are about one-third of the Mount Everest peak.
- This one should make you feel wonderful if you’re even considering going to Antarctica anytime soon. There is a hidden lake called Lake Vostok which is a freshwater lake buried 4 kilometers of frozen water and is about the size of Lake Ontario. Another more interesting fact is that it is not the only lake of its kind that resides in the continent. There are about 200 more water bodies like that all over the continent.
- We are slowly reaching that point of more and more interesting factors that will entice you to take at least one tour at the white lands. In an expedition in 2010 scientists have found a natural rift which can easily rival with the Grand Canyon. The rift stretches over a land of over 100 kilometers, about 9 kilometers in its breadth and the depth is a good 1.6 kilometers. Though explorers are still figuring out the exact length and breadth of the rift to declare it the biggest yet.
- You will find Mount Erebus which is a volcanic mountain in the region which holds volcanic lakes despite the freezing conditions in the entire continent. One of the major attractions for tourists and travelers in this region because of its seemingly contradictory nature of existence.
- Antarctica gets constant sunrise or else it’s submerged in constant darkness due to the tilt of the earth the continent does not get any sunlight from vernal equinox to the autumnal equinox. This the reason the traveler cruises operate in the continent from November to March, the only time the big ice chunks melt and clear out the area enough for the cruise ship to pass through.
- Global warming is taking precedence in most of the places across the globe and Antarctica has been the victim of it too. As far back as the year 2000, an ice shelf broke off at the Ross Island which was roughly the size of the state of Connecticut. It was 200 kilometers in length and 40 kilometers in breadth.
