Visit the Antarctic.There's more to Antarctica Antarctica (ăntärk`tĭkə, –är`tĭkə), the fifth largest continent, c.5,500,000 sq mi (14,245,000 sq km), asymmetrically centered on the South Pole and almost entirely within the Antarctic Circle. than freezing temperatures and its location at the "bottom" of Earth. Use the chart (below) to learn about this amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. place. Then, study the map (see part 2). Use the information to answer the questions that follow.
VISIT THE ANTARCTIC
There's more to Antarctica than freezing temperatures and its
location at the "bottom" of Earth. Use the chart (below) to learn
about this amazing place. Then, study the map (see part 2). Use
the information to answer the questions that follow.
ANTARCTIC FACTS
Physical Antarctica is a continent, or a large continuous
Description landmass that is mostly surrounded by water.
Its surface area is approximately
14.2 million square kilometers (5.5 million
square miles)--or about 1.5 times the size
of the United States. When sea ice forms
around Antarctica's coast during the winter
months, the continent can double in size.
Geographic About 98 percent of Antarctica is covered
Features in glacier ice. Glaciers--or massive, slowly
moving rivers of ice--are constantly flowing
from the interior of the continent toward
the coast. The Transantarctic Mountains
(see map, part 2) stretch across
Antarctica. Also, there are at least two
active volcanoes on the continent.
Seasons and Unlike boreal summer, or summer in the
Climate Northern Hemisphere, austral summer takes
place in December, January, and February.
During these months, Antarctic temperatures
hover around 0[degrees]C (32[degrees]F)
on the coast and range from -20[degrees]C to
-35[degrees]C (-4[degrees]F to -31[degrees]F)
in the interior.
During the austral winter months of June
through September, temperatures range
from -20[degrees]C to -30[degrees]C
(-4[degrees]F to -22[degrees]F) on
the coast and -40[degrees]C to
-70[degrees]C (-40[degrees]F to -94[degrees]F)
in the interior.
Native Animals These are some of the animals that call the
Antarctic region home: Emperor and Adelie
penguins, krill, leopard and Weddell seals,
blue and humpback whales.
Native Human None known
Inhabitants
DID YOU KNOW?
Physical It has been nicknamed "The Last Continent."
Description That's because Antarctica was the last of
seven continents to be discovered by humans.
It's also the fifth largest continent after Asia,
Africa, North America, and South America.
Antarctica is larger than Europe and Australia.
Geographic The word "Antarctica" means opposite the
Features Arctic in Greek. That's because it's located on
the opposite end of the world from the Arctic.
But, unlike Antarctica, the Arctic is not a land-
mass. It's an ocean surrounded by parts of
Finland, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Greenland,
Canada, and the United States.
Seasons and The coldest air temperature ever recorded on
Climate Earth was at Russia's Vostok research station
on Antarctica. On July 21, 1983, the tempera-
ture there plunged to -89.4[degrees]C
(-129[degrees]F).
Besides being cold, Antarctica is also very dry.
It's a desert, or region that receives less than
25 centimeters (10 inches) of precipitation a
year. In fact, an average of less than 5 cm
(2 in.) of rain or snow falls on Antarctica each
year.
Native Animals Blue whales are the largest mammals on Earth.
These animals that nurse their young with milk
can weigh up to 190,000 kilograms (418,800
pounds)--or as much as 30 elephants.
Native Human During the Antarctic summer, approximately
Inhabitants 3,500 scientists and support staff from more
than one dozen countries live and do research
in the Antarctic region. Tourism is also gaining
in popularity. Between 2003 and 2004, there
were 27,537 vacationers.
WHERE IS IT? Antarctica extends between 66.5[degrees] and 90[degrees] south latitude latitude, angular distance of any point on the surface of the earth north or south of the equator. The equator is latitude 0°, and the North Pole and South Pole are latitudes 90°N and 90°S, respectively. , or the distance south of the equator as measured in degrees. The prime meridian prime meridian, meridian that is designated zero degree (0°) longitude, from which all other longitudes are measured. By international convention, it passes through the original site of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England; for this reason, it is sometimes is an imaginary line In general, an imaginary line is any sort of line that has only an abstract definition, and does not exist in fact. As a geographical concept, an imaginary line may serve as an arbitrary division (such as a border). that runs between the North and South Poles North and South Poles figurative ends of the earth. [Geography: Misc.] See : Remoteness . Longitude longitude (lŏn`jĭt  d'), angular distance on the earth's surface measured along any latitude line such as the equator east or west of the prime meridian. is the distance east or
west of this imaginary line as measured in degrees.Directions: Read the questions below and circle the correct answer. 1. Antarctica is larger than a. Asia. c. North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . b. Australia Australia (ôstrāl`yə), smallest continent, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. With the island state of Tasmania to the south, the continent makes up the Commonwealth of Australia, a federal parliamentary state (2005 est. pop. . d. Africa. 2. The Antarctic region receives less than --centimeters of precipitation precipitation, in chemistry precipitation, in chemistry, a process in which a solid is separated from a suspension, sol, or solution. In a suspension such as sand in water the solid spontaneously precipitates (settles out) on standing. a year. a. 25 b. 37 c. 48 d. 57.6 3. Of the following months in the Antarctic, which one is likely to have the coldest temperatures? a. January January: see month. b. March c. August d. December 4. The Southern Ocean extends from Antarctica's coast to 60[degrees] south latitude. Which ocean does not meet the Southern Ocean? a. Atlantic b. Pacific c. Indian d. Arctic Arctic area of constant cold. [Geography: WB, A:600] See : Coldness (language, music) Arctic - A real-time functional language, used for music synthesis. ["Arctic: A Functional Language for Real-Time Control", R.B. 5. The--Ice Shelf is located near 65[degrees] south latitude and 60[degrees] west longitude. a. Larsen b. Filchner c. Ross Ross , Sir Ronald 1857-1932. British physician. He won a 1902 Nobel Prize for proving that malaria is transmitted to humans by the bite of the mosquito. d. Ronne Take It Further: Believe it or not, Antarctica's frozen ice sheet, or a very large type of glacier glacier, moving mass of ice that survives year to year, formed by the compacting of snow into névé and then into granular ice and set in motion outward and downward by the force of gravity and the stress of its accumulated mass. , contains more than two-thirds of Earth's freshwater fresh·wa·ter adj. 1. Of, relating to, living in, or consisting of water that is not salty: freshwater fish; freshwater lakes. 2. Situated away from the sea; inland. 3. . Research to come up with a list of 10 additional facts about the continent. ANSWERS 1. b 2. a 3. c 4. d 5. a |
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