Antarctica

Antarctica is the fifth largest of the world's seven continents. Its land mass is located at the South Pole and lies almost entirely inside of the Antarctic Circle. The South Pole, near the Queen Maud Mountains, at 90 degrees south, is also about the geographic center of the continent. Most of the Antarctic continent extends to the Antarctic Circle at 66 degrees 30 minutes north of the South Pole. The size of the continent of Antarctica is 5,400,000 million square miles (13,985,936 square kilometers.). Its land area combined with its ice cap makes it larger than either Australia or Europe. The ice cap that covers almost all of Antarctica is more than two miles (3.2 km.) thick in most places. The Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans surround the island continent of Antarctica. Some have called the ocean waters around the continent the Antarctic or Southern Ocean; however, the general scholarly opinion is that it does not have a true ocean. The Transantarctic Mountains separate the continent into the larger region of East Antarctica and the smaller region of West Antarctica. The Indian and South Atlantic Oceans surround the East Antarctica area. West Antarctica faces the Pacific Ocean.

The land in West Antarctica between the Transantarctic Mountains and the Marie Mountains is covered with a thick sheet of ice. If the ice cap were to melt, much of West Antarctica would turn into islands because the area is mostly below sea level. West Antarctica is part of the Pacific “ring of fire” and contains several active volcanoes. It was formed later than East Antarctica. Geological studies of East Antarctica have revealed that this area is composed of Precambrian shield. Other geological surveys have found small deposits of copper in the Antarctic Peninsula, coal beds in the Transantarctic Mountains, and traces of other minerals including gold, zinc, lead, iron, and manganese. The mountain ranges and volcanoes of West Antarctica contain the continent's highest elevation, reaching to a height of 16,864 feet (5,141 meters), on the Vinson Massif in the Ellsworth Mountains near the Antarctic Peninsula. The Antarctic Peninsula is an S-shaped range of mountains that is really an extension of the Andean Mountains. Islands in proximity to the peninsula include the South Shetland Island and Deception Island, which is also an active volcano.

The area of East Antarctica has a mountainous coastline with a rift [Page 50]valley that cuts deep into the continent from the Indian Ocean to the Prince Charles Mountains. Glaciers move down the mountain valleys in Antarctica to the oceans. In the summertime, they drop or “calve” icebergs. Many of these will later be blown up into ice packs against the Antarctica landmass. Most of East Antarctica is a plateau covered with ice with a depth of greater than two miles. The average height of the plateau is 10,000 feet (3,000 meters). Sastrugi, which are ridges of ice and snow, are formed on the plateau by strong winds that can exceed 100 miles per hour. The climate of Antarctica is extremely cold and dry. The South Pole and its surrounding environment is a cold desert that receives only about two inches (five centimeters) of snow each year. The coasts of the continent are moist and receive up to 24 inches (61 centimeters) of snowfall each year. There are a few places in the Transantarctic Mountains and elsewhere where valleys are free of ice and snow. The winds sweep these valleys so fiercely that snow cannot accumulate.

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