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The Antarctic
Introduction
T
he South Pole is one of the coldest
places on Earth. It is much colder
than the North Pole. Even in summer
the temperature never rises above
freezing. Usually it is 5-20°F (20-30°C)
below zero. In winter it can be twice as
cold as that. It is so cold that there is
hardly any snowfall. When you breathe
at those temperatures your teeth hurt.
You must always wear a mask over
your face, but the water in your breath
soon ices this up.
What is under your feet is
stranger still. It looks like the snow and
ice at the North Pole. But here the ice is
nearly 2 miles (almost 3 km) thick.
No wonder it is so cold.
How Big is Antarctica?
Antarctica is an immense land. It is
twice the size of Australia. The US
and Mexico would easily fit inside
it. When you stand at the South Pole
you are nearly 1,253 miles (2,000 km)
from the sea.
Scientists calculate that Antarctica
contains nearly three-quarters of all
the fresh water in the world. All of this
water is frozen into the gigantic
ice cap
that covers Antarctica. Whole
mountain chains have been covered by
the ice cap. Only the tops of the peaks
show through. These bare rocks are
called nunataks.
The small areas of ice-free rock
around the coast of Antarctica are
most precious. Here millions of
penguins and seabirds breed. These
birds need bare rock on which to nest.
Thousands of birds squeeze up
together on the few areas of rock.
A
ntarctica is the coldest and most isolated continent
on Earth. It is also very high—on average between
1.25–1.75 miles (2000-3000 m) above sea level.
Freezing winds howl across the landscape with few
natural barriers to prevent them.
T
he king penguin is
nearly 3 feet tall. It
does not build a nest but
keeps its egg or chick
warm on its feet.
Antarctic Boundaries
The boundaries of the Antarctic are
much easier to define than those of the
Arctic. The Southern Ocean separates
Antarctica from all the other continents.
South America is the closest but is
still 466 miles (750 km) away. Africa is
2,485 miles (4,000 km) from the coast
of Antarctica.
The ice cap and sea ice make the
Southern Ocean very cold. There is a
point where the cold water from
Antarctica meets the warm water from
the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.
This is called the Antarctic Polar Front.
The Polar Front runs right around the
Antarctic and marks a clear edge to the
continent.
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Antarctic Polar Front
Sea ice in summer
Sea ice in winter