Interesting facts about the continent of Antarctica - this is almost all the information about it. Almost two centuries have passed since the discovery of the sixth continent in 1820 by the Russian sailors Bellingshausen and Lazarev. From year to year, something new becomes known about the icy continent and most often it is so different from the usual for the average person that it immediately falls into the list with the heading "Antarctica: interesting facts, finds, discoveries." The list below contains information about the sixth continent of a very different nature that can show how unique the southern land is.
International arrangements
You can start with the fact that Antarctica is the only continent on the planet that does not belong fully or partially to any of the countries. In 1959, a corresponding treaty was concluded, which froze for a long time any territorial claims. A war-free zone for international scientific research is what Antarctica is. Interesting facts about its position on the world stage are also the existence of the flag of the sixth mainland against the background of the absence of statehood and any institutions of power and citizenship.
Today, over forty year-round polar stations operate on the icy continent, five of which belong to Russia. At the same time, expeditions and research are often international in nature.
Antarctica: interesting facts about climatic conditions
In the summer months, the number of polar explorers working on the sixth continent reaches 5 thousand. In winter, it drops to 1,000. All researchers are confronted with the harsh conditions of the Antarctic climate. The temperature in the vast part of the territory does not rise above -20 º. In Antarctica is the South Pole of Cold in the vicinity of the Russian Vostok station. Here in 1983, a temperature of -89.2 º was recorded.
In addition to extreme cold, on the expanses of the sixth continent, polar explorers encounter the extraordinary dryness of the air for which Antarctica is famous. Interesting facts are the ratio of the amount of water contained in the ice cap of the mainland (70% of the planet’s fresh water ) and low humidity in the atmosphere. Only 10 cm of precipitation falls here annually. The so-called dry McMurdo valleys have been discovered on the continent. They are spread over an area of 8 thousand kilometers. The peculiarity of the valleys is that they are almost completely free of ice due to the very strong winds blowing here. According to researchers, their speed reaches 320 km / h. In some of the valleys, precipitation did not occur for two million years.
Ponds
Antarctica is a place of contrasts. Despite such dry air and low temperatures, in its open spaces you can find rivers. The name of one of them is Onyx. It flows for only two summer months, and then freezes. Onyx directs its waters to Lake Wanda, which is located in one of the dry valleys (and again the contrast!).
Lists titled “10 Interesting Facts About Antarctica” often include reports of an under-ice pond found in the vicinity of Vostok Station. This lake attracts the attention of many scientists today, and the most diverse branches of knowledge. However, this is a topic for a separate article. In addition to this reservoir in the territory of the sixth continent, more than 140 subglacial lakes were discovered.
Interesting facts about Antarctica animals : fish
The impact of climate, of course, is felt not only by polar explorers, but also by all living organisms existing in these conditions. An example of an amazing adaptation to harsh climates is the whitefish. Their blood does not contain red blood cells and, accordingly, hemoglobin, so it does not have a characteristic red color. The assimilation of oxygen occurs according to a slightly different pattern than that of the relatives of “ice” fish. The life-giving gas dissolves directly in the blood. Other species of fish are found on the sixth continent. All of them have a substance in the blood that is similar in their properties to automobile antifreeze: it does not allow the liquid to freeze even at the most extreme temperatures.
And these are not all the miracles that Antarctica prepared for man. Interesting facts for children often mention another species of fish. A relative of the usual cod, we have a unique ability to hibernate for a very long period. She can be in a state of suspended animation for up to six months, during the polar night.
Black and white handsome
What can't Antarctica boast of? Interesting facts, collected by teachers or parents for children, also often include this point: there are no polar bears on the continent. It's too cold here for them. On the sixth continent, in general, there are no completely land animals.
The most popular representatives of the Antarctic fauna are penguins. Only two species live directly on the mainland. These are Adelie penguins and famous emperor ones. The latter are found only on the icy continent. They differ from their brethren in large sizes and the “habit" of reproducing during the polar night.
Two more species (Antarctic and Subantarctic penguins) nest only on the Antarctic Peninsula, a part of the mainland that is very prominent in the ocean, and therefore characterized by milder climatic conditions.
Insects
Interesting facts about Antarctica animals include information not only about mammals and birds. There are also insects. There are no winged representatives of the class on the sixth continent: it is hardly possible to fly in conditions of such hurricane winds. The largest insects, and at the same time terrestrial "inhabitants" of the continent, are considered to be Belgica antarctica mosquitoes (they feed on microorganisms and are indifferent to blood). These midges are not found anywhere else on Earth. They live mainly on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Finds
The animal world of the sixth continent was interesting in all ages. Few people today do not know that once Antarctica was covered in forests. In those days, dinosaurs inhabited it. Finds confirming this have been repeatedly found in different areas of the mainland. In the 90s of the last century, a group of American paleontologists found almost a whole dinosaur skeleton in the Transantarctic mountains. After extracting and studying it, it turned out that the bones belong to a predatory lizard, later called a cryolophosaurus.
Such skeletons were not previously found in other parts of the world. Presumably, the cryolophosaurus is the ancestor of a whole branch of lizards, called tetanures, the remains of which were found on different continents. Apparently, they settled on the planet precisely from Antarctica.
Giant
Another major find was made on the island of James Ross. There were discovered the remains of a titanosaurus, living according to scientists 70 million years ago. This herbivorous lizard had a long tail and an equally impressive neck, as well as a massive body. The discovered bones probably belonged to an individual that reached thirty meters in length. This dinosaur lived not only in Antarctica, similar remains are found on all continents.
Meteor Rain
The bones of ancient dinosaurs are not the only interesting finds found on the icy continent. There are a large number of meteorites. In some areas, the ice layer is literally replete with interspersed space "aliens". It should be noted that the frequency of meteorite incidence into the Antarctic does not differ from the average for the planet as a whole (1 meteorite per year per square kilometer). The astounding number of finds is due to other reasons. Dark meteorites are better visible in the snow. In addition, the low temperatures of the mainland contribute to their "conservation" and preservation in an almost unchanged form. The slow movement of glaciers toward the coast and their destruction leads to the accumulation of meteorite fragments in certain areas of the continent, calculated by researchers and regularly examined by them.
Antarctica hides a lot of amazing findings. Interesting facts about the continent are regularly updated with new information after the return of the expeditions. The existing data can be built into a very long list. And therefore, today Antarctica: interesting facts, photos of the landscape, data on research results, etc., attracts the attention of not only specialists, but also people who are not related to science by occupation.