Antarctica is the southernmost continent, located around the South Pole. It is the coldest, driest, windiest continent and holds 90% of the world's ice and 70% of its fresh water. Antarctica is covered by a vast ice sheet that is on average 7,200 feet thick. If the ice melted, sea levels would rise 230 feet and flood many coastal cities. No permanent human residents live in Antarctica, though about 4,000 scientists reside there seasonally. Several countries have claimed ownership of parts of Antarctica but it is governed by an international treaty.

1. Antarctica
Ms. Patten 2014

2. What is Antarctica like?
 The prefix ant- means opposite or opposing
 Most southerly continent
 Fifth largest continent
 Driest, highest, coldest and windiest continent
 Antarctica holds 90 percent of all the world's
ice and 70 percent of all the world's fresh
water.

3. What is Antarctica like?
 Antarctica is a large land mass buried under a
vast ice cap (98%)
 very different from the Arctic which is a frozen
ocean surrounded by land
 the North Pole is located on shifting sea-ice
 In the winter, the temperature at the South
Pole averages about -60 degrees C (-76
degrees F).
 The farther from the coast one goes the higher
and colder it becomes.

4. What is Antarctica like?
 The average thickness of the ice sheet is 7,200
feet
 If the ice cap were to melt, the average sea
level would rise 230 feet, easily inundating
most coastal cities: New York, London, and
Hong Kong
 The weight of the ice is so enormous that the
continent buried beneath it would rise to an
average altitude of 3,280 feet if the ice sheet
were removed

5. Animal life?
 Penguins, whales, seals, krill
(Norwegian word for whale
food) and fish but no land
mammals and no native
peoples
 Polar bears, Eskimos and
Santa are found in the Arctic,
not the Antarctic

6. Do people live on
Antarctica?
 There are no permanent residents of Antarctica
 Roughly 4,000 scientists and personnel during
the summer season; 1000 in the winter
 The population at the South Pole peaks when
the summer sun is high, reaching 125.
 The number of people at the South Pole during
the winter of 1993 was only 28.

7. Who owns Antarctica?
 No one country actually
owns Antarctica
although several states
have claimed territory
 Antarctic Treaty signed
by 12 countries in 1959
dictates the use of the
continent

8. Australia
 The Australian Antarctic
Division maintains four
permanent research stations;
Mawson, Davis and Casey on
the Antarctic mainland, and
Macquarie Island in the
subantarctic.
 All four stations are occupied
year-round by scientists and
support staff.

9. Sources
 http://faculty.umf.maine.edu/~legler/antar
cticawebsite/coolf.htm
 http://geography.about.com/cs/politicalge
og/a/antarctica.htm?terms=antarctic
 http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid
=6238
 http://astro.uchicago.edu/cara/outreach/c
oldfacts.html