The Antarctic Plateau (often referred to as the Polar Plateau) is a large area of East Antarctica, extending for about a thousand kilometers, and which includes the South Pole. It is at an average elevation of close to 3,000 metres (9,800 ft).
The plateau was discovered in 1903 during the Discovery Expedition of the Antarctic, led by Robert Falcon Scott. Ernest Shackleton became the first to cross parts of it in 1909 during the Nimrod Expedition, returning only 97 nautical miles from the South Pole. He named it King Edward VII Plateau in tribute to the King, whereas Roald Amundsen renamed the plateau Haakon VII's Plateau in honour of King Haakon VII of Norway, upon his successful South Pole expedition in 1911.
Its altitude, combined with its latitude, mean that temperatures here are the lowest in the world. The almost constant southerly winds make the conditions here even more inhospitable to life. Hence there is practically none, even at the bacterial level.[citation needed]
See also
- East Antarctic Ice Sheet
- Dome A
- Plateau Station
- Dome C
- Dome F
- Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
- Vostok Station
- Pole of inaccessibility (Antarctic research station)
- Ridge A
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