Portal where penguins live - portal where penguins live. The geographical position of Antarctica, the size of its territory and the nature of the coastline The area of ​​​​Antarctica with islands is

Antarctica- a continent located in the very south of the Earth, the center of Antarctica approximately coincides with the geographic south pole. Antarctica is washed by the waters of the Southern Ocean.
The area of ​​the continent is about 14,107,000 km² (of which ice shelves - 930,000 km², islands - 75,500 km²).

Antarctica is also called the part of the world, consisting of the mainland of Antarctica and adjacent islands.

Map of Antarctica - open

Opening

Antarctica was officially discovered on January 16 (28), 1820 by a Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, who approached it on the sloops Vostok and Mirny at the point 69°21′S sh. 2°14′ W d.(G) (O) (area of ​​present-day Bellingshausen Ice Shelf). Previously, the existence of the southern mainland (lat. Terra Australis) was asserted hypothetically, it was often combined with South America (for example, on a map compiled by Piri Reis in 1513) and Australia (named after the “southern mainland”). However, it was the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev in the south polar seas, having circled the Antarctic ice around the world, confirmed the existence of the sixth continent.

The first to enter the continental part on January 24, 1895 were the captain of the Norwegian ship "Antarctic" Christensen and the teacher of natural sciences Karsten Borchgrevink.

Geographic division

The territory of Antarctica is divided into geographical areas and areas discovered years earlier by various travelers. The area explored and named after the discoverer (or others) is called "land".

The official list of lands of Antarctica:

• Queen Maud Land
• Wilkes Land
• Victoria Land
• Land Mary Byrd
• Ellsworth Land

Relief

Antarctica is the highest continent on Earth, the average height of the surface of the continent above sea level is more than 2000 m, and in the center of the continent it reaches 4000 meters. Most of this height is the permanent ice sheet of the continent, under which the continental relief is hidden, and only 0.3% (about 40 thousand km²) of its area is free of ice - mainly in West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains: islands, coastal areas, the so-called. "dry valleys" and individual ridges and mountain peaks (nunataks) rising above the ice surface. The Transantarctic Mountains, crossing almost the entire continent, divide Antarctica into two parts - West Antarctica and East Antarctica, which have a different origin and geological structure. In the east there is a high (the highest elevation of the ice surface is ~4100 m above sea level) ice-covered plateau. The western part consists of a group of mountainous islands connected by ice. On the Pacific coast are the Antarctic Andes, whose height exceeds 4000 m; the highest point of the continent - 5140 m above sea level - the Vinson massif in the Ellsworth mountains. In West Antarctica there is also the deepest depression of the continent - the Bentley depression, probably of rift origin. The depth of the Bentley depression, filled with ice, reaches 2555 m below sea level.

Under-ice relief

The study using modern methods made it possible to learn more about the subglacial relief of the southern continent. As a result of the research, it turned out that about a third of the mainland lies below the level of the world ocean, the research also showed the presence of mountain ranges and massifs.

The western part of the continent has a complex relief and large elevation changes. Here are the highest mountain (Mount Vinson 5140 m) and the deepest depression (Bentley trough −2555 m) in Antarctica. The Antarctic Peninsula is a continuation of the South American Andes, which stretch towards the South Pole, slightly deviating from it to the western sector.

The eastern part of the mainland has a predominantly smooth relief, with separate plateaus and mountain ranges up to 3-4 km high. In contrast to the western part, composed of young Cenozoic rocks, the eastern part is a projection of the crystalline basement of the platform that was previously part of Gondwana.

The continent has relatively low volcanic activity. The largest volcano is Mount Erebus on Ross Island in the sea of ​​the same name.

NASA's subglacial surveys have discovered a crater of asteroid origin in Antarctica. The diameter of the funnel is 482 km. The crater was formed when an asteroid with a diameter of about 48 kilometers (larger than Eros) fell to Earth, about 250 million years ago, in the Permian-Triassic period. The asteroid did not cause severe harm to the nature of the Earth, but the dust raised during the fall led to centuries of cooling and the death of most of the flora and fauna of that era. This crater is by far the largest on Earth.

ice sheet

The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest on our planet and exceeds the nearest Greenland ice sheet in area by approximately 10 times. It contains ~30 million km³ of ice, that is, 90% of all land ice. Due to the gravity of the ice, as studies by geophysicists show, the continent sank by an average of 0.5 km, as evidenced by its relatively deep shelf. The ice sheet in Antarctica contains about 80% of all fresh water on the planet; if it melts completely, global sea levels will rise by almost 60 meters (for comparison: if the Greenland ice sheet melted, ocean levels would rise by only 8 meters).

The ice sheet is dome-shaped with an increase in the steepness of the surface towards the coast, where it is framed in many places by ice shelves. The average thickness of the ice layer is 2500-2800 m, reaching a maximum value in some areas of East Antarctica - 4800 m. The accumulation of ice on the ice sheet leads, as in the case of other glaciers, to the flow of ice into the ablation (destruction) zone, which is the coast of the continent; ice breaks off in the form of icebergs. The annual volume of ablation is estimated at 2500 km³.

A feature of Antarctica is a large area of ​​ice shelves (low (blue) areas of West Antarctica), which is ~10% of the area that rises above sea level; these glaciers are the source of icebergs of record size, much larger than those of the outlet glaciers of Greenland; for example, in 2000, the largest iceberg B-15 known at the moment (2005) with an area of ​​over 10 thousand km² broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf. In winter (summer in the Northern Hemisphere), the area of ​​sea ice around Antarctica increases to 18 million km², and in summer it decreases to 3-4 million km².

The ice sheet of Antarctica was formed about 14 million years ago, which was apparently facilitated by the rupture of the bridge connecting South America and the Antarctic Peninsula, which, in turn, led to the formation of the Antarctic circumpolar current (Western Winds current) and the isolation of the Antarctic waters from the World Ocean - these waters make up the so-called Southern Ocean.

Climate

Antarctica has an extremely harsh cold climate. In East Antarctica, at the Soviet Antarctic station Vostok on July 21, 1983, the lowest air temperature on Earth in the entire history of meteorological measurements was recorded: 89.2 degrees below zero. The area is considered the cold pole of the Earth. The average temperatures of the winter months (June, July, August) are from -60 to -70 °С, summer (December, January, February) from -30 to -50 °С; on the coast in winter from -8 to -35 °С, in summer 0-5 °С.

Another feature of the meteorology of East Antarctica is katabatic (katabatic) winds, due to its dome-shaped topography. These stable winds of southerly directions arise on rather steep slopes of the ice sheet due to the cooling of the air layer near the ice surface, the density of the near-surface layer increases, and it flows down the slope under the action of gravity. The thickness of the air flow layer is usually 200-300 m; due to the large amount of ice dust carried by the wind, horizontal visibility in such winds is very low. The strength of the katabatic wind is proportional to the steepness of the slope and reaches its highest values ​​in coastal areas with a high slope towards the sea. The katabatic winds reach their maximum strength in the Antarctic winter - from April to November they blow almost continuously around the clock, from November to March - at night or when the Sun is low above the horizon. In summer, during the daytime, due to the heating of the near-surface air layer by the sun, katabatic winds near the coast stop.

Data on temperature changes from 1981 to 2007 show that the temperature background in Antarctica has changed unevenly. For West Antarctica, as a whole, an increase in temperature is observed, while for East Antarctica, no warming has been detected, and even a slight decrease has been noted. It is unlikely that in the XXI century the process of melting of the glaciers of Antarctica will increase significantly. On the contrary, the amount of snow falling on the Antarctic ice sheet is expected to increase as temperatures rise. However, due to warming, a more intensive destruction of ice shelves and an acceleration of the movement of outlet glaciers of Antarctica, which throw ice into the World Ocean, are possible.

Population

In the 19th century, several whaling bases existed on the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent islands. Subsequently, they were all abandoned.

The harsh climate of Antarctica prevents its settlement. Currently, there is no permanent population in Antarctica, there are several dozen scientific stations where, depending on the season, from 4000 people (150 Russian citizens) live in summer and about 1000 in winter (Russian citizens approx. 100).

In 1978, the first man of Antarctica, Emilio Marcos Palma, was born at the Esperanza station in Argentina.

Antarctica assigned internet top-level domain .aq and telephone prefix +672 .

Status of Antarctica

In accordance with the Antarctic Convention, signed on December 1, 1959 and entered into force on June 23, 1961, Antarctica does not belong to any state. Only scientific activities are allowed.

The deployment of military installations, as well as the entry of warships and armed vessels south of 60 degrees south latitude, are prohibited.

In the 1980s, Antarctica was also declared a nuclear-free zone, which excluded the appearance of nuclear-powered ships in its waters, and nuclear power units on the mainland.

Now the parties to the treaty are 28 states (with the right to vote) and dozens of observer countries.

The coldest continent on our planet is considered to be Antarctica. Antarctica is also called the part of the world of the planet, which includes the mainland itself and the adjacent islands. In this article, consider Antarctica as a mainland. This continent was discovered by a Russian expedition in January 1820. The mainland is located in the very south of the planet. Translated from Greek, Antarctica means "opposite the Arctic" or "opposite the north." Approximately the center of the mainland falls on the location of the south pole of the Earth. The continent is washed by the southern part of the waters of three oceans: the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, since 2000 this territory of waters has become known as the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is characterized by strong winds and storms.

The area of ​​this continent is approximately 14.107 million km2. In terms of its average height (2040 m), Antarctica ranks first among the continents. The only thing to consider is that this height is achieved thanks to glaciers, while the land of this continent is located much lower than this figure. Therefore, the first place in terms of land height is given to the mainland Eurasia. And in the central part, the ice cover can reach more than 4,000 meters in height. If we compare the amount of ice on Antarctica with the ice reserves on the entire planet, then Antarctica contains 90% of all the ice reserves of the planet. Also in these Ices is stored 80% of the total supply of fresh water on the planet. If all the glaciers of the mainland melt, this will lead to an increase in the water level in all oceans by 60 meters, and Antarctica itself will become an archipelago (cluster of islands).

Relief of Antarctica

In its structure, the mainland of Antarctica resembles a dome. Near the coast, the height of the mainland reaches about 2000 m above sea level, and in the central part it can reach more than 4000 m above sea level. Therefore, a kind of dome is obtained.

Most of the mainland is covered with permanent ice cover and only 0.3% of its territory rises above the ice, which is about 40,000 m2. These areas include islands, coastal areas and mountain peaks. On the territory of the continent there are the Transantarctic Mountains, which almost completely cross the entire continent and, thus, divide it into two different parts, which are called the eastern and western parts.

In the east of Antarctica there is a plateau, which is covered with glaciers and the level of glaciers here reaches the highest heights - more than 4000 meters above sea level. The western part of the mainland consists more of mountainous islands. In Antarctica, the highest point above sea level is the Vinson Massif (4892 m) and the lowest point below sea level is the Bentley Trench (2555 m below sea level), which is covered by ice.

Vinson Massif

Thanks to the research, scientists were able to find out that Antarctica is 1/3 submerged under water, where mountain ranges and massifs can be distinguished.

When studying the subglacial cover of the continent, scientists managed to find a huge crater with a diameter of 482 km. It is believed that the asteroid that left this crater was 48 km across and that it fell to Earth about 250 million years ago, that is, it became the culprit of centuries of permafrost and the cause of the death of most of the flora and fauna of that period. Today it is the largest crater on planet Earth.

Climate of Antarctica

The continent of Antarctica is characterized by a harsh cold climate. It was here that the lowest temperature in history was recorded - 89.2 degrees below zero in 1983. The weather conditions in the center of the mainland and on its outskirts are very different. If in the center of the mainland Antarctica it can be calm and the Sun shines brightly in the blue sky, then the coast of the mainland can be covered with storms. The wind here can rise up to 90 m/s, sweeping away everything in its path. Waves can reach 20 meters in height.

The weather on the continent also changes as the seasons change. The winter months here are June, July and August. During these months, temperatures can drop from -60 to -75 degrees Celsius below zero in the central part and from -8 to -35 degrees Celsius below zero on the coast of the mainland. The summer months here are December, January and February. During these months, the continent gets slightly warmer, with temperatures rising from -30 to -50 degrees below zero in the central part and -5 to 0 degrees Celsius on the coast. Based on the temperatures, it almost never rains here - it only snows.

Another characteristic feature of weather conditions in Antarctica are strong and continuous winds that can reach up to 90 meters per second. This is due to the domed structure of the mainland. From April to November, the winds in Antarctica blow almost the whole day without stopping. From November to March, winds can blow at night, and during the day, due to the warming of the upper layer, the winds can subside.

Flora and fauna of Antarctica

Given the peculiar harsh cold climate of the continent, the diversity of animals and plants leaves much to be desired.

Ferns, algae (in oases), fungi, lichens, and flowering plants grow from plants in Antarctica. Of the animals on the coast of the continent, you can meet seals and penguins. More animals can be found in the seaside strip. Of the underground animals, these are arachnids and insects. Also live seals, fur seals, birds, penguins. There are no completely land animals on the territory of Antarctica. The main decoration of the coasts of Antarctica are penguins.

There are no formed states on Antarctica, and it belongs to no one. But 16 countries have built their bases here and are studying this continent.

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ANTARCTICA, the mainland in the center of Antarctica. 13975 thousand km2 (including 1582 thousand km2 ice shelves and islands attached to Antarctica by glaciers). Antarctica - the southern polar region of the globe, including Antarctica and adjacent areas of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific approx. with the seas of Weddell, Ross, Amundsen, Bellingshausen, etc., as well as the islands lying in the subantarctic waters: Yuzh. George, South. Sandvichevy, Yuzh. Orkney, South. Shetland and others. The border of Antarctica runs within 48-60 °S. sh. Total area approx. 52.5 million km2. (). Antarctica is the most severe region of the Earth with low air temperatures, strong winds, snow storms and fogs.

Population.

Due to the harshness of the climate, there is no permanent population in Antarctica. However, scientific stations are located there. The temporary population of Antarctica ranges from 4,000 in summer to 1,000 in winter.

Relief and ice cover.

Antarctica is the highest continent on Earth, the average height above sea level is more than 2000 m, and in the center of the continent it reaches 4000 m. Most of this height is the permanent ice cover of the continent, only about 5% of its area is ice-free - mainly in West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains: islands, coastal areas, the so-called. "dry valleys" and individual ridges and mountain peaks. The Transantarctic Mountains, crossing almost the entire continent, divide Antarctica into two parts - West Antarctica and East Antarctica - having different origins and geological structures. In the east there is a high (maximum elevation ~4100 m above sea level), ice-covered plateau. The western part consists of a group of mountainous islands connected by ice. On the Pacific coast are the Antarctic Andes, whose height exceeds 4000 m; the highest point of the continent - 5140 m above sea level - the Vinson Massif of the Sentinel Range. West Antarctica also has the deepest ice-filled Bentley Trench. Its depth reaches 2555 m below sea level.
The modern ice sheet of Antarctica was formed several million years ago. Apparently, this was facilitated by the rupture of the bridge connecting South America and the Antarctic Peninsula, which, in turn, led to the formation of the Antarctic circumpolar current (Western Winds current) and the isolation of the Antarctic waters from the World Ocean - these waters make up the so-called Southern Ocean.
The Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest ice sheet on the planet and is approximately 10 times larger than the nearest Greenland Ice Sheet. It contains ~30 million km³ of ice, i.e. 90% of all land ice. The average thickness of the ice layer is 2500-2800 m, the maximum value in some areas of East Antarctica is 4800 m. The accumulation of ice on the ice sheet leads to the movement of ice into the zone of destruction - the coast of the continent, the ice breaks off in the form of icebergs. The annual volume of broken ice is estimated at 2,500 km³. In 2000, the largest iceberg known to date, B-15, with an area of ​​over 10,000 km², broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf.

Geological structure.

The eastern and most of Western Antarctica is the Precambrian Antarctic platform, bordered by later folded structures. The age of the rocks of the crystalline basement is 2.5-2.8 billion years, the most ancient rocks of the Enderby land are more than 3 billion years old. The basement is covered by a younger sedimentary cover formed 350-190 million years ago, mainly of marine origin. The layers with an age of 320-280 million years contain glacial deposits, but younger ones contain fossil remains of plants and animals, including ichthyosaurs and dinosaurs, which indicates a strong difference between the climate of that time and the modern one. Findings of heat-loving reptiles and fern flora were made by the first explorers of Antarctica, and served as one of the strongest evidence of wide horizontal plate movements.
The territory of West Antarctica is occupied by the Caledonian plate and the Andean folded belt (Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent regions). This is a younger area, formed during the last 500 million years by the addition of small continental microplate fragments to the Antarctic plate. The largest are the Ellsworth Mountains, the Antarctic Peninsula and Mary Bird Land. The collision of these microplates with the Antarctic plate led to the formation of the mountains of western Antarctica. Over 99% of the territory is covered with ice (average thickness 1720 m, maximum over 4300 m; volume 24 million km3); ice-free areas are found in the form of oases, mountain ranges.

Climate.

Antarctica has the harshest climate of all the continents. The absolute cold pole of the Earth is located in East Antarctica, where a temperature of -89.2°C was recorded (at the Vostok station). Average temperatures in the winter months are from -60 to -70 °С, in summer months from -30 to -50 °С; on the coast in winter from -8 to -35 °С, in summer 0-5 °С. Very strong winds are frequent. These steady southerly winds occur on the steep slopes of the ice sheet due to the cooling of the air layer near the ice surface, the density of the near-surface layer increases, and it flows down the slope under the influence of gravity. The thickness of the air runoff layer is usually 200-300 m, due to the large amount of ice dust carried by the wind, horizontal visibility in such winds is very low. The katabatic winds reach their maximum strength in the Antarctic winter - from April to November they blow almost continuously around the clock, from November to March - at night or when the Sun is low above the horizon. In summer, during the daytime, due to the heating of the near-surface air layer by the sun, katabatic winds near the coast stop.
Antarctica is a tectonically calm continent with low seismic activity; manifestations of volcanism are concentrated in western Antarctica and are associated with the Antarctic Peninsula, which arose during the Andean period of mountain building. Some of the volcanoes have erupted in the last 200 years. The most active volcano in Antarctica is Mount Erebus. It is called "the volcano guarding the way to the South Pole".
Despite global warming, over the past 35 years, the temperature in Antarctica has dropped significantly. The air temperature at the surface decreases by 0.7 °C every ten years. The overall decrease in temperature in Antarctica is a mystery to scientists, since most climate change scenarios assume that the polar regions of the planet should be affected by global warming faster and more intensively. In the 21st century, the process of melting of Antarctica is considered unlikely. Perhaps due to the high amount of precipitation, the Antarctic ice sheet will even increase. However, the melting of Antarctica is possible in the following centuries, especially if humanity fails to slow down the process of global warming in advance.

Inland waters.

Due to the fact that the average annual temperatures in Antarctica do not exceed zero degrees, precipitation there falls only in the form of snow. It forms an ice cover (snow is compressed under its own weight) with a thickness of more than 1700 m, in some places reaching 4300 m. Up to 90% of the entire fresh water of the Earth is concentrated in the Antarctic ice.
In the 90s of the 20th century, Russian scientists discovered an ice-free ice-free lake Vostok. In January 2006, geophysicists Robin Bell and Michael Studinger from the American Lamont-Doherty Geophysical Observatory discovered the second and third largest subglacial lakes, with an area of ​​​​2000 km² and 1600 km², respectively, located at a depth of about 3 km from the surface of the continent. They reported that this could have been done sooner if the data from the Soviet expedition of 1958-1959 had been analyzed more carefully. In addition to these data, satellite data, radar readings and measurements of the force of gravity on the surface of the continent were used.
In total, in 2006, a little more than a hundred lakes were discovered in Antarctica.

organic world.

The biosphere in Antarctica is represented in 4 “arenas of life”: coastal islands and ice, coastal oases on the mainland (for example, the “Banger oasis”), the nunatak arena (Amundsen mountains near Mirny, Mount Nansen on Victoria Land, etc.) and the ice sheet arena.
Plants and animals are most common in the coastal zone. Ground vegetation in ice-free areas exists mainly in the form of various types of mosses and lichens, and does not form a closed cover (Antarctic moss-lichen deserts). Higher plants are represented by only a few species, the most diverse on the northwestern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula (about a dozen species).
Antarctic animals are completely dependent on the coastal ecosystem of the Southern Ocean: due to the scarcity of vegetation, all significant food chains of coastal ecosystems begin in the waters surrounding Antarctica. Antarctic waters are especially rich in zooplankton, primarily krill. Krill directly or indirectly form the basis of the food chain for many species of fish, cetaceans, squid, seals, penguins and other animals; Completely terrestrial mammals are absent in Antarctica; invertebrates are represented by ~70 species of arthropods (insects and arachnids) and soil-dwelling nematodes.
Terrestrial animals include seals (Weddell, crabeaters, leopard and Ross seals, elephant seals) and birds (several petrel species, 2 skua species, Adélie penguins and emperor penguins).
In freshwater lakes of continental coastal oases - "dry valleys" there are oligotrophic ecosystems inhabited by blue-green algae, roundworms, copepods (cyclops) and daphnia, while birds (petrels and skuas) fly here occasionally.
Only bacteria, algae, lichens and mosses are characteristic of nunataks; only skuas following people occasionally fly onto the ice sheet.
In 1994, scientists reported a rapid increase in the number of plants in the Antarctic, which seems to confirm the hypothesis of global warming on the planet.
From plants there are flowering, fern (on the Antarctic Peninsula), lichens, fungi, bacteria, algae (in oases). Antarctic oases are ice-free areas of Antarctica that have the character of polar deserts. They are divided into typical, or shelf, coastal and mountain. Area from several tens to hundreds of square kilometers (Banger oasis 952 km2). Most of the polar scientific stations are located in the Antarctic oases.
Minerals: coal, iron ore, mica, copper, lead, zinc, graphite, etc.

Research history.

Antarctica was discovered in January 1820 by the Russian expedition of F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev. In the beginning. 20th century R. Scott, E. Shackleton, R. Amundsen, D. Mawson, and others visited Antarctica. In 1911, the expedition of R. Amundsen and in 1912 R. Scott reached the South Pole.

P The first initial stage included the discovery of islands around Antarctica and the search for the mainland (16th century beginning of the 19th century)
Long before the discovery of the mainland, various assumptions were made about the existence of a hypothetical Southern land, in search of which expeditions were sent to discover large islands around Antarctica. The French expedition of Bouvet de Lozier in 1739 discovered an island in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean, which was named Bouvet. In 1772, the French navigator J. J. Kerguelen discovered a large archipelago in the southern part of the Indian Ocean, consisting of one large island (Kerguelen) and 300 small ones.
In 1768-71, J. Cook led an expedition that was heading in search of the southern mainland. Having examined New Zealand, the expedition discovered the strait between its North and South Islands (later named after Cook) and found that New Zealand is not a protrusion of the southern mainland, as previously thought, but an archipelago of two islands. In 1772-75, Cook, on the second expedition dedicated to the search for the southern mainland, was the first of the navigators to cross the Antarctic Circle, but he did not find the mainland and stated that it was impossible to find it at all because of the ice that made the land inaccessible. During this voyage in the south Atlantic Ocean, he approached the island of St. George, discovered the South Sandwich Islands, mistakenly believing that this was a ledge of the mainland land and therefore calling them Sandwich Land (after the first Lord of the Admiralty). A group of islands off the northwestern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula (South Shetland Islands) was discovered in 1819 by the Englishman W. Smith.

IN second stage - the discovery of Antarctica and the first scientific research (19th century)
The discovery of Antarctica as a continent was carried out on January 28, 1820, by the Russian expedition of F. F. Bellingshausen, which sailed along the Pacific coast on two ships (Vostok, under the command of Bellingshausen, and Mirny, M. P. Lazarev), discovering the islands of Peter I, Shishkov, Mordvinov, Alexander I Land and specifying the coordinates of some previously discovered islands. Bellingshausen crossed the Antarctic Circle six times, proving the possibility of sailing in Antarctic waters.
In 1820-21, American and British fishing vessels were approaching the Antarctic Peninsula. In 1831-33, the English navigator J. Biscoe sailed around Antarctica on the ships Thule and Lively. The French oceanographer J. Dumont-Durville in 1837-40 led an expedition to the southern polar latitudes, during which Adélie Land, Joinville Island and Louis Philippe Land were discovered. In 1838-42, C. Wilkes led a complex expedition to the South Pacific Ocean, during which part of the coast of East Antarctica was discovered Wilkes Land. J. Ross, who went to Antarctica in 1840-43 on the ships "Erebus" and "Terror", discovered the sea and a huge ice barrier with a height of approx. 50 m, stretching from west to east for a distance of 600 km, later named after him, Victoria Land, the volcanoes Erebus and Terror.
Sailing to Antarctica, after a long break, resumed at the end of the 19th century due to the growing needs of whaling. Expeditions visited the shores of the ice continent: the Scottish, which discovered the land of Oscar II (on the ship Balena, 1893), the Norwegian, who discovered the coast of Larsen (the ships Jason and Antarctica, 1893-94), and the Belgian (led by A. Gerlache), wintering in Antarctica in 1897-99 on the drifting ship Bel Zhika. In 1898-99, K. Borchgrevink spent the first wintering on the mainland at Cape Ader, during which he conducted systematic observations of the weather, then explored the Ross Sea, climbed the barrier of the same name and advanced on a sleigh to a record latitude of 78 ° 50.

T third stage - study of the coast and interior regions of the mainland (first half of the 20th century)
The first trip to Antarctica in our century was made by R. Scott, who in 1901-04 approached the shores of the continent on the ship Discovery, explored the coast of the Ross Sea, discovered the Edward VII Peninsula, the Ross Glacier, along the western edge of which reached 82 ° 17 S. sh. During this expedition, one of the most productive for its time, extensive material was collected on the geology of Antarctica, its flora, fauna and minerals. In 1902, E. Drygalsky discovered and explored the territory called Wilhelm II Land. Based on the collected material, he developed the theory of moving ice. The Scottish navigator and physician W. Bruce in 1892-93 and 1902-04 conducted oceanological research in the Wedell Sea, discovered Coates Land. He developed a project for the transantarctic transition, which was completed half a century later. The French expedition under the command of J. Charcot in 1903-05, conducting research off the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, dug up Lube Land.
The English traveler E. Shackleton in 1907-09 led a sleigh expedition to the South Pole, discovering one of the largest glaciers on the planet, the Beardmore Glacier. Due to a lack of provisions and the death of mounts (dogs and ponies), Shackleton turned back before reaching the pole 178 km. The first to reach the South Pole was the Norwegian polar explorer and explorer R. Amundsen, who in January 1911 landed on the Ross ice barrier and on December 14, 1911 with four satellites reached the South Pole, discovering Queen Maud mountains along the way. A month later (January 18, 1912) a group headed by R. Scott reached the Pole. On the way back, 18 km from the base camp, Scott and his companions died. Their bodies, as well as notes and diaries, were found eight months later.
Two Antarctic expeditions: in 1911-14 and 1929-31 were carried out by the Australian geologist and traveler D. Mawson, who explored part of the coast of the mainland and mapped over 200 geographical objects (including Queen Mary Land, Princess Elizabeth Land and MacRobertson Land).
The first flight of an aircraft over Antarctica was made in 1928 by the American polar explorer, admiral and pilot R. Byrd. In November 1929 he reached the South Pole by plane. In 1928-47, under his leadership, four major expeditions to Antarctica were carried out (more than 4 thousand people took part in the largest, fourth expedition), seismological, geological and other studies were carried out, and the presence of large coal deposits in Antarctica was confirmed. Baird flew over the continent for about 180 thousand km. The first transantarctic flight was made in 1935 by the American mining engineer and pilot L. Ellsworth, who discovered a number of geographical features on the mainland, including the mountains he named after his father.
In 1933-37, L. Christensen, following the coast on the ship "Torshavn", discovered the Prince Harald Coast, the Leopold Coast and Astrid. D. Rimilla in 1934-37 crossed the Antarctic Peninsula for the first time. In the 40-50s. in Antarctica, scientific bases and stations are being created for regular research of coastal areas.

H fourth stage - international systematic research (second half of the 20th century).
From the end of the 50s. in the seas surrounding the continent, oceanographic work is carried out, regular geophysical research is carried out at stationary continental stations; expeditions are also undertaken into the interior of the continent. Soviet scientists carried out a sledge-tractor trip to the Geomagnetic Pole (1957), the Pole of Relative Inaccessibility (1958), and the South Pole (1959). American explorers went on all-terrain vehicles from Little America station to Byrd station and further to Sentinel station (1957), in 1958-59 from Ellsworth station through the Dufek massif to Byrd station; In 1957-58 British and New Zealand scientists on tractors crossed Antarctica through the South Pole from the Wedell Sea to the Ross Sea. Australian, Belgian and French scientists also worked in the interior of Antarctica.

In preparation for the International Geophysical Year, about 60 bases and stations belonging to 11 states were founded on the coast, ice sheet and islands (including the Soviet observatory Mirny, stations Oasis, Pionerskaya, Vostok-1, Komsomolskaya and Vostok, American Amundsen-Scott at the South Pole, Byrd, Hulett, Wilkes and McMurdo).
At present, Russia in Antarctica has five stations in working order - Mirny, Vostok, Novolazarevskaya, Progress and Bellingshausen, and three stations are in a mothballed state - Molodyozhnaya, Russkaya and Leningradskaya.

status of Antarctica.

International legal regime south of 60°S sh. defined by the Antarctic Convention, signed on 1 December 1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961. According to the Convention, Antarctica does not belong to any state. Only scientific activities are allowed. The Treaty provides for the demilitarization and neutralization of Antarctica, prohibits the deployment of military installations, the entry of warships, nuclear-powered ships and armed ships, as well as nuclear explosions and the disposal of nuclear waste. The treaty establishes the principle of freedom of scientific research. Now the parties to the treaty are 28 states (with the right to vote) and dozens of observer countries.
The Convention on the Conservation of Seals in Areas South of 60°S has been in force since 1972. sh., since 1980 Convention on the Conservation of Marine Animal Resources in Areas South of the Antarctic Convergence Line (Confluence and Mixing of Antarctic and Subantarctic Waters).

Territorial claims.

Territorial claims to AntarcticaHowever, the treaty does not mean that the states that have acceded to it have renounced their territorial claims to the continent and adjacent space. On the contrary, the territorial claims of some countries are formidable. For example, Norway claims territory ten times its own. Including the island of Peter I, discovered by the Bellingshausen-Lazarev expedition. Great territories declared their Great Britain. Australia considers almost half of Antarctica to be its own, into which, however, the “French” Adélie Land is wedged. Hastened for its piece of "pie" and New Zealand. And Chile and Argentina claim practically the same territory - the Antarctic Peninsula, which they even call differently.
The United States and Russia took a special position, declaring that they could, in principle, put forward their territorial claims in Antarctica, although so far they have not done so.

Why is it necessary to study and develop Antarctica?

Antarctica is the last resource reserve of mankind, this is the last place where mankind will be able to extract minerals after its depletion on the five inhabited continents. Geologists have established that the bowels of Antarctica contain a significant amount of minerals - iron ores, coal, traces of copper, nickel, lead, zinc, molybdenum ores have been found, rock crystal, mica, and graphite have been found.

Observations of climatic and meteorological processes on the continent, which, like the Gulf Stream in the Northern Hemisphere, is a climate-forming factor for the entire Earth.

Antarctica is up to 90% of the world's fresh water reserves.

In Antarctica, the effects of outer space and the processes occurring in the earth's crust are being studied.
Glaciology, which studies the structure of ice, is already bringing serious scientific results today, informing us about what the Earth was like a hundred, thousand, hundreds of thousands of years ago. In the ice cover of Antarctica, data on the climate and composition of the atmosphere over the past hundred thousand years were recorded. The chemical composition of the various layers of ice determines the level of solar activity over the past few centuries.

Antarctica provides a unique chance to see and study microorganisms that lived millions of years ago (see Lake Vostok).

Antarctic bases, especially Russian bases, located around the entire perimeter of the continent, provide ideal opportunities for tracking seismological activity throughout the planet.

The Antarctic bases are testing technologies that are planned to be used in the future for the exploration, development and colonization of the Moon and Mars.

Antarctica on the Internet.

Antarctica has been assigned the Internet top-level domain .aq and the telephone prefix +672.

Geographers distinguish between the concepts of "Antarctica" and "Antarctica". The name “Antarctica” comes from the Greek words “anti” - against, “arktikos” - northern, i.e. lying against the northern polar region of the Earth - the Arctic. Antarctica includes the mainland Antarctica with its adjacent islands and the south polar waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans up to the zone of the so-called Antarctic convergence, where cold Antarctic waters converge with relatively warm waters of temperate latitudes. This zone occupies an intermediate position between the northern boundary of the appearance of icebergs and the edge of sea ice during their maximum distribution. On average, it lies about 53 ° 05 "S. The area of ​​\u200b\u200bAntarctic within the indicated limits, including the mainland Antarctica, is approximately 52.5 million km 2.

Antarctica is a continent located almost entirely within the Antarctic Circle.. Its area is about 14 million km 2, which is about twice the area of ​​Australia. The geometric center of the mainland, called the Pole of relative inaccessibility, is located at 84 ° S, relatively close to the South Pole.

The coastline, which is over 30,000 km long, is slightly indented. The shores of the mainland almost along their entire length are glacial cliffs up to several tens of meters high. From the side of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the marginal seas of Wedell, Bellingshausen, Amundsen, and Ross protrude into the coast of the mainland. Large areas of the marginal seas are covered with ice shelves, which are a continuation of the continental ice shell. The narrow Antarctic Peninsula protrudes towards South America, protruding a few degrees north of the Antarctic Circle.

Brief information about the history of the discovery and exploration of Antarctica

The hypothesis of the existence of Antarctica is associated with the name of the ancient Greek geographer and astronomer K. Ptolemy, who lived in the I-II centuries. ad. Then the assumption was born that the ratio of land and sea areas in the Northern and Southern hemispheres should be approximately the same. For many centuries this hypothesis was not confirmed.

In 1774-1775. The English navigator James Cook, making a round-the-world expedition, penetrated the Antarctic waters much further south than his predecessors. But he could not break through the cold and ice to the mainland. The journey of J. Cook ended the first period in the history of the discovery and exploration of Antarctica - the period of assumptions about the existence of Antarctica.

The second period ended with the discovery of Antarctica. The honor of discovering the continent belongs to Russian sailors - the first Russian Antarctic expedition of 1819-1821. On the sloops "Vostok" and "Mirny" under the command of F. Bellingshausen and M. Lazarev. The direct discovery of the coast of Antarctica took place on January 28, 1820.

The third period begins with the study of Antarctic waters and coasts. For many decades, ships of researchers from a number of countries have been sent to the shores of Antarctica. In 1882-1883. For the first time, studies of Antarctica were carried out according to the agreed program of the first International Polar Year.

The fourth period of the study of Antarctica begins with the first wintering on the mainland of the Norwegian K. Borchgrevink in 1898 on the coast of Robertson Bay near Cape Adare. This stage ended with the conquest of the South Pole in 1911-1912. The expedition of the Englishman Robert Scott went to the Pole from the western edge of the Ross Sea - from McMurdo Bay - on Scottish ponies and skis. The expedition, led by an experienced polar explorer Roald Amundsen, set off by dog ​​sled from the eastern edge of the Ross Sea - from the Bay of Whales.

The Norwegian expedition was the first to reach the South Pole on December 14, 1911, and its members successfully returned to the coast and sailed home. R. Scott came to the South Pole with four comrades on skis 35 days later - January 16, 1912. On the way back, R. Scott and his companions died from exhaustion and cold ... History in a special way reconciled the rivals in the tragic race to the South Pole: the American scientific station "Amundsen-Scott" is now constantly working there.

Among the researchers of the Antarctic, one should also mention the Australian D. Mawson and the Englishman E. Shelkton, as well as the American expeditions of 1928-1930, 1933-1936, 1939-1941. under the direction of R. Baird. After the Second World War, the modern stage of research in Antarctica begins within the framework of the program of the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958). Under this program, our country was given the study of East Antarctica - the most inaccessible and unexplored part of the mainland - the site. The first complex Antarctic expedition of the USSR (1955-1956), headed by M. Somov, left the port of Kaliningrad on the diesel-electric ship "Ob" and founded the scientific station "Mirny" on the coast of Antarctica. In subsequent years, other stations were created within the continent and in coastal areas: “Vostok”, “Pole of Inaccessibility”, “Pionerskaya” and others. The Center for Soviet Antarctic Research was moved to the Molodezhnaya station, where natural conditions are less severe than in the Mirny area.

In 1959, 12 states, including Argentina, Australia, the USSR, the USA, Japan and others, concluded the International Treaty on Antarctica, which prohibits the use of the continent for military purposes, provides for freedom of scientific research and exchange of information on the results of the work of scientific stations and expeditions. Until now, this Treaty is respected, and Antarctica is figuratively called "the continent of science and peace."

Based on the results of research by domestic and foreign scientists, we now have accurate ideas about the features of the nature of Antarctica.

Antarctica was officially discovered on January 16 (28), 1820 by a Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, who approached it on the sloops Vostok and Mirny at the point 69°21′ S. sh. 2°14′ W (G) (O) (area of ​​the modern Bellingshausen Ice Shelf). Previously, the existence of the southern mainland (lat. Terra Australis) was asserted hypothetically, it was often combined with South America (for example, on a map compiled by Piri Reis in 1513) and Australia (named after the “southern mainland”). However, it was the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev in the south polar seas, having circled the Antarctic ice around the world, confirmed the existence of the sixth continent.

The first to enter the continental part on January 24, 1895 were the captain of the Norwegian ship "Antarctic" Christensen and the teacher of natural sciences Karsten Borchgrevink.

Status of Antarctica

Cape Hanna In accordance with the Convention on Antarctica, signed on December 1, 1959 and entered into force on June 23, 1961, Antarctica does not belong to any state. Only scientific activities are allowed.

The deployment of military installations, as well as the entry of warships and armed vessels south of the 60th degree of latitude, are prohibited. In the 80s of the XX century, Antarctica was also declared a nuclear-free zone, which excluded the appearance of nuclear-powered ships in its waters, and nuclear power units on the mainland. Now the parties to the treaty are 28 states (with the right to vote) and dozens of observer countries.

Mainland Antarctica

The coldest continent on our planet is considered to be Antarctica. Antarctica is also called the part of the world of the planet, which includes the mainland itself and the adjacent islands. In this article, consider Antarctica as a mainland. This continent was discovered by a Russian expedition in January 1820. The mainland is located in the very south of the planet. Translated from Greek, Antarctica means "opposite the Arctic" or "opposite the north." Approximately the center of the mainland falls on the location of the south pole of the Earth. The continent is washed by the southern part of the waters of three oceans: the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, since 2000 this territory of waters has become known as the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is characterized by strong winds and storms.

The area of ​​this continent is approximately 14.107 million km2. In terms of its average height (2040 m), Antarctica ranks first among the continents. The only thing to consider is that this height is achieved thanks to glaciers, while the land of this continent is located much lower than this figure. Therefore, the first place in terms of land height is given to the mainland of Eurasia. And in the central part, the ice cover can reach more than 4,000 meters in height. If we compare the amount of ice on Antarctica with the ice reserves on the entire planet, then Antarctica contains 90% of all the ice reserves of the planet. Also in these Ices is stored 80% of the total supply of fresh water on the planet. If all the glaciers of the mainland melt, this will lead to an increase in the water level in all oceans by 60 meters, and Antarctica itself will become an archipelago (cluster of islands).

Relief

Antarctica is the highest continent of the Earth, the average height of the surface of the continent above sea level is more than 2000 m, and in the center of the continent it reaches 4000 meters. Most of this height is the permanent ice cover of the continent, under which the continental relief is hidden, and only 0.3% (about 40 thousand km²) of its area is free of ice - mainly in West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains: islands, coastal areas, the so-called. "dry valleys" and individual ridges and mountain peaks (nunataks) rising above the ice surface.

The Transantarctic Mountains, crossing almost the entire continent, divide Antarctica into two parts - West Antarctica and East Antarctica, which have a different origin and geological structure. In the east there is a high (the highest elevation of the ice surface is ~4100 m above sea level) ice-covered plateau. The western part consists of a group of mountainous islands connected by ice. On the Pacific coast are the Antarctic Andes, whose height exceeds 4000 m; the highest point of the continent - 5140 m above sea level - the Vinson Massif in the Ellsworth Mountains. The deepest depression of the continent, the Bentley Basin, is also located in West Antarctica, probably of rift origin. The depth of the Bentley depression, filled with ice, reaches 2555 m below sea level.

Under-ice relief

The study using modern methods made it possible to learn more about the subglacial relief of the southern continent. As a result of the research, it turned out that about a third of the mainland lies below the level of the world ocean, the research also showed the presence of mountain ranges and massifs.

The western part of the continent has a complex relief and large elevation changes. Here are the highest mountain (Mount Vinson 5140 m) and the deepest depression (Bentley trough −2555 m) in Antarctica. The Antarctic Peninsula is a continuation of the South American Andes, which stretch towards the South Pole, slightly deviating from it to the western sector.

The eastern part of the mainland has a predominantly smooth relief, with separate plateaus and mountain ranges up to 3–4 km high. In contrast to the western part, composed of young Cenozoic rocks, the eastern part is a projection of the crystalline basement of the platform that was previously part of Gondwana.

The continent has relatively low volcanic activity. The largest volcano is Mount Erebus on Ross Island in the sea of ​​the same name.

NASA's subglacial surveys have discovered a crater of asteroid origin in Antarctica. The diameter of the funnel is 482 km. The crater was formed when an asteroid with a diameter of about 48 kilometers (larger than Eros) fell to Earth, about 250 million years ago, in the Permian-Triassic period. The asteroid did not cause severe harm to the nature of the Earth, but the dust raised during the fall led to centuries of cooling and the death of most of the flora and fauna of that era. This crater is by far the largest on Earth.

ice sheet

The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest on our planet and exceeds the nearest Greenland ice sheet in area by approximately 10 times. It contains ~30 million km³ of ice, that is, 90% of all land ice. Due to the gravity of the ice, as studies by geophysicists show, the continent sank by an average of 0.5 km, as evidenced by its relatively deep shelf. The ice sheet in Antarctica contains about 80% of all fresh water on the planet; if it melts completely, global sea levels will rise by almost 60 meters (for comparison: if the Greenland ice sheet melted, ocean levels would rise by only 8 meters).

The ice sheet is dome-shaped with an increase in the steepness of the surface towards the coast, where it is framed in many places by ice shelves. The average thickness of the ice layer is 2500–2800 m, reaching a maximum value in some areas of East Antarctica - 4800 m. The accumulation of ice on the ice sheet leads, as in the case of other glaciers, to the flow of ice into the zone of ablation (destruction), which is the coast of the continent; ice breaks off in the form of icebergs. The annual volume of ablation is estimated at 2500 km³.

A feature of Antarctica is a large area of ​​ice shelves (low (blue) areas of West Antarctica), which is ~10% of the area that rises above sea level; these glaciers are the source of icebergs of record size, much larger than those of the outlet glaciers of Greenland; for example, in 2000, the largest iceberg B-15 known at the moment (2005) with an area of ​​over 10 thousand km² broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf. In winter (summer in the Northern Hemisphere), the area of ​​sea ice around Antarctica increases to 18 million km², and in summer it decreases to 3–4 million km².

The ice sheet of Antarctica was formed about 14 million years ago, which was apparently facilitated by the rupture of the bridge connecting South America and the Antarctic Peninsula, which, in turn, led to the formation of the Antarctic circumpolar current (Western Winds current) and the isolation of the Antarctic waters from the World Ocean - these waters make up the so-called Southern Ocean.

Climate

On the coast, especially in the area of ​​the Antarctic Peninsula, the air temperature reaches -10 -12 C in summer, and on average in the warmest month (January) it is 1 C, 2 C.

In winter (July) on the coast, the average monthly temperature ranges from -8 on the Antarctic Peninsula to -35 C at the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.

Due to the predominance of descending currents, the relative air humidity is low (60–80%), near the coast and, especially in the Antarctic oases, it decreases to 20 and even 5%. Relatively little cloud cover. Precipitation falls almost exclusively in the form of snow: in the center of the mainland, their amount reaches 30–50 mm per year, in the lower part of the continental slope it increases to 600–700 mm, decreases somewhat at its foot (up to 400–500 mm) and increases again on some ice shelves and on the northwestern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula (up to 700–800 and even 1000 mm). Due to strong winds and heavy snowfalls, blizzards are very frequent.

Despite global warming, over the past 35 years, the temperature in Antarctica has dropped significantly. The air temperature at the surface decreases by 0.7 °C every ten years. The overall decrease in temperature in Antarctica is a mystery to scientists, since most climate change scenarios assume that the polar regions of the planet should be affected by global warming faster and more intensively. In the 21st century, the process of melting of Antarctica is considered unlikely. Perhaps due to the high amount of precipitation, the Antarctic ice sheet will even increase. However, the melting of Antarctica is possible in the following centuries, especially if humanity fails to slow down the process of global warming in advance.

Inland waters

Due to the fact that not only average annual, but even summer temperatures in most areas, temperatures in Antarctica do not exceed zero degrees, precipitation there falls only in the form of snow (rain is an extremely rare occurrence). It forms an ice cover (snow is compressed under its own weight) with a thickness of more than 1700 m, in some places reaching 4300 m. Up to 90% of the entire fresh water of the Earth is concentrated in the Antarctic ice.

In the 1990s of the XX century, Russian scientists discovered the ice-free ice-free Vostok Lake - the largest of the Antarctic lakes, having a length of 250 km and a width of 50 km; the lake holds about 5400 thousand km³ of water.

In January 2006, geophysicists Robin Bell and Michael Studinger from the American Lamont-Doherty Geophysical Observatory discovered the second and third largest subglacial lakes, with an area of ​​​​2000 km² and 1600 km², respectively, located at a depth of about 3 km from the surface of the continent. They reported that this could have been done sooner if the data from the 1958–1959 Soviet expedition had been analyzed more carefully. In addition to these data, satellite data, radar readings and measurements of the force of gravity on the surface of the continent were used. In total, in 2007, more than 140 subglacial lakes were discovered in Antarctica.

Flora of Antarctica

The flora of Antarctica, due to special climatic conditions, is extremely poor. Most of all there are algae - about 700 species. The coast of the mainland and its plains, free from ice, are covered with mosses and lichens. But there are only two types of flowering plants. These are colobanthus kito and antarctic meadow grass.

Colobanthus kito belongs to the clove family. It is a cushion-shaped herbaceous plant with small white and pale yellow flowers. The growth of an adult plant does not exceed 5 cm.

Meadow antarctic belongs to the grass family. It grows only in areas of land that are well lit by the sun. Meadow bushes can grow up to 20 cm. The plant itself tolerates frost very well. Frost does not harm the plant even during flowering.

All plants of Antarctica have successfully adapted to the eternal cold. Their cells contain little water, and all processes are very slow.

Animal world of Antarctica

The peculiarity of the fauna of Antarctica is directly related to its climate. All animals live only where there is vegetation. Despite the severity of climatic conditions, a person was even born in Antarctica (this happened in 1978). And excavations have shown that dinosaurs once lived on this mainland.

Conventionally, all Antarctic animals can be divided into two groups: terrestrial and aquatic, and there are no completely terrestrial animals in Antarctica.

The waters around the mainland are rich in zooplankton, which is the main food for whales and seals, fur seals and penguins. Ice fish also live here - amazing creatures that have adapted to life in icy water.

Of the large animals, blue whales most often visit the shores of Antarctica, which are attracted by the abundance of shrimp. Roundworms and blue-green algae inhabit the fresh waters of the lakes, as well as copepods and daphnia.

The world of birds is represented by penguins, arctic terns and skuas. There are 4 species of penguins in Antarctica. The largest population is the emperor penguins. Petrels also fly to the southern mainland.

There are also few mammals. Basically, these are animals that can live on land and in water. Most of all in Antarctica seals. Leopard seals, elephant seals and Rossa also live on the coast. Of the dolphin family, there are only small groups of black-and-white or sand-colored dolphins, known among whalers under the name "sea cows".

That's who there are a lot of - so it's invertebrate arthropods. In Antarctica, 67 species of ticks and 4 species of lice were found. There are fleas, lice and the ubiquitous mosquitoes. And wingless jingle-black mosquitoes live only in Antarctica. These are the only endemic insects that can be classified as completely land animals. Most of the insects and invertebrates were brought to the shores of the southern continent by birds.

Sights of Antarctica

• Glaciers of Antarctica. Paradise Harbor is a popular destination in Antarctica. Watching huge blocks of age-old glaciers and icebergs from the sides of inflatable boats is a spectacular sight.
• Islands of Antarctica. There is a place in Antarctica that is of particular interest to volcanologists, hunters and travelers - Deception Island. It is an extinct volcano and has the shape of a horseshoe.
• bloody waterfall. An unusual attraction for icy Antarctica is the Bloody Falls. Streams of red water, with a high concentration of salts and iron oxide, flow down the surface of the glacier, originating in one of the Antarctic lakes.
• Church of the Whalers. Another well-known place in Antarctica is the Whaling Church, built in neo-Gothic style back in 1913 next to the whaling station. Despite the full functionality, after the restoration in 1998, it is practically not used today, but it has been preserved for posterity as a monument.
• Mountains of Antarctica. The Queen Maud mountain range rises 3,000 meters above sea level. The system was discovered by the expedition of R. Amundsen, named after the Norwegian queen.
• Drake Passage. Drake Passage was named after an English pirate sailor who sailed in this place in the middle of 1578. It is the deepest and widest strait in the world.
• Catholic Church. The Catholic Church, located in an ice cave, is located at the Belgrano Arctic research base. This is the "coldest" temple among all religions known on earth.
• Penguins in Antarctica. And, of course, the most important and pretty attraction of Antarctica is the king penguins, without which it is impossible to imagine this region.

Tourism in Antarctica

Given the extremely difficult climatic conditions in Antarctica, tourism here is completely dependent on the season and is possible only for a few months of the year. In general, this is the period from November to March, however, certain types of tours to Antarctica are held only at the "crown" of the southern hemisphere summer.

Cruises to the Antarctic regions (South Shetland and Falkland Islands, the South Georgia Archipelago, the Antarctic Peninsula and the continental seas) are held from November to March. Cruises in the eastern part of Antarctica, where the huge Ross Ice Shelf is located and memorable places dedicated to the history of the conquest of the mainland, are available in January-February, when the ice melts here. Conquest of the South Pole by plane (option: by plane and skis) is possible only at the peak of the Antarctic summer - in December-January.

Video

Sources

https://tonkosti.ru/Antarctica https://seasons-years.rf/nature of Antarctica.html http://chudesnyemesta.ru/antarktida-dostoprimechatelnosti/