Antarctica

Most of the continent is above sea level. However, under the polar ice sheet there is land that is below sea level.

Antarctica is surrounded by the Southern Ocean.

According to Google Maps, if you were a bird and flew in a direct line, you would fly 6,471.984 miles from Miami to the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

You can review the list of stations here -- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_stations_in_Antarctica

Each is supported by a government that signed the Antarctic Treaty. The stations serve as centers for research about the health of planet earth. A station consists of dormitories, laboratories, cafeterias and work buildings.

You can access Antarctica from New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina, even South America -- with several cities being bases for tours or logistical support for scientific work being conducted on the continent.

You can travel to Antarctica generally between November and January. Travelling in Antarctica is restrictive and is generally best advised when you can get on and off the continent.

No, they could not survive. The temperature in Antarctica is, for the most part, well below freezing. There is little exposed soil as most of the continent is covered by thousands of feet of ice. Few plants survive in Antarctica and they only do so close to the coast where it is a bit warmer.

Indeed, people do live in Antarctica, but not typically in igloos. There are no native peoples from Antarctica, and never have been as far as we currently know. Igloos might be built there from time to time, but the people who live there are researchers from other places, and live in research stations/outposts in more permanent dwellings. Anyone venturing farther away from the research stations should know how to build igloos to use them like tents and for immediate survival; certainly they are not used as regular dwelling places if at all.
The only igloo would be built by a temporary worker or scientist in need of shelter, having not returned to camp or to the research station before being threatened by extreme weather.

The mainland area of Australia is 7 659 861 sq km, while the mainland area of the continent of Antarctica is around 14 million sq km. Therefore, Antarctica is almost twice the size of Australia.

All of the land south of 60 degrees S is governed by the Antarctic Treaty (1960), agreed to by governments representing 80% of the earth's population.

Some nation-states have laid territorial claims to parts of the continent, The treaty recognizes these claims, but holds them in abeyance and prohibits future claims.

The treaty sets the land aside for science -- the scientific study of the health of planet earth -- and precludes any development, including commercial or attempts to colonize. The extreme harsh environment makes establishing 'outposts' difficult and challenging.

The continent is too cold to support any animal life; there is no food chain on the continent, and no crops would grow.

Everything that would be required to establish an 'outpost' would of necessity be brought to the 'outpost' by ship or by airplane.

The sea ice freezes during the winter months and joins with the ice sheet, essentially doubling the size of the continent. This precludes any access to land by ship. As well, during the winter months, the extreme environment is so cold that aircraft petrol and hydraulic systems freeze.

They only move around on the beaches, close to open water.

However, in winter, penguin colonies on land can exist a long way away from open water, because the sea ice freezes, essentially doubling the size of the Antarctic continent.

An emperor penguin, for example, may walk 150 Km to open water in the early spring.


The best description for the way penguins move on land is this: they waddle. Their legs are extremely short. During the longer journeys across the ice, emperor penguins have been known to slide on their bellies, pushing themselves ahead using the claws on the ends of their webbed toes.

If you mean base is a generic name for a research station, they are established on crevasse-free zones or near the coasts. Buildings are constructed there the same way they are constructed in the country supporting the station. Wood, metal and glass are all useful components for buildings in Antarctica.

The definition of a desert is - no permanent surface water, no regular rainfall. Antarctica easily qualifies as a desert. The interior of Antarctica is considered the world's driest desert because the extreme cold freezes water vapour out of the air.

Antarctica has started to melt and there is now an antarctic treaty protecting most of it. New glaciers are forming all the time and it doubles in size each winter but shrinks again in summer.

No, Antarctica is not a country itself, but some territory is claimed by countries such as Australia, Britain, Argentina, Chile, etc. Some claims overlap each other. No existing claim is valid nor are new claims allowed per the Antarctic Treaty, signed in the 1960s.

So you could not be a citizen of Antarctica.

Argentina, Chile, new zealand, Australia, Norway, Europe and that's it i think

Antarctic Marine Ecosystem

1st answer: Antarctic world's lowest temperature -89.6 degrees Celsius was recorded on 21st July, 1983, at Vostok Station at an elevation of 3,488 metres.

2nd answer: The lowest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica was -82.5 degrees Celsius. Or -116 degrees Fahrenheit.

Yes, there is a Mawson Station in Antarctica, supported by the Australian government.