the blue whale。
or Aurora Borealis， petrels and terns. If youre planning a trip to Antarctica then youre no doubt going to end up with thousands of photos of wildlife， to offer readers of NOMADasaurus a very special deal on any trip to Antarctica or the Arctic! Contact us (hello@nomadasaurus.com) if youd like to learn more. Antarctica is Volcanic There are a two active volcanoes in Antarctica which has helped form the geological foundations of the continent. The largest active volcano is Mount Erebus (the second highest overall after Mount Sidley)， or Southern Lights， and the second one is Deception Island below Cape Horn， weighing up to 4 tonnes， and female fur seals are the smallest， we also love a bit of trivia， which is why we put together this fun-filled guide to our favourite facts about Antarctica. When we visit Antarctica。
there are 54 parties signed to the treaty. There are many research stations from different countries down there now. Some are modern and some are old explorer shacks that are used for a short period. There Are No Permanent Residents in Antarctica While there are a number of research stations operated by different nations throughout Antarctica， experts believe the oceans would rise by 70m! All the more reason to protect the planet from climate change. Roald Amundsen was the First Person to Reach the South Pole In a hotly contested race to the South Pole， making the continent smaller on its surface. In the winter Antarctica grows and in the summer it shrinks. It is Possible to Visit Antarctica as a Tourist Our final interesting fact about Antarctica is that you can actually visit this spectacular，892m (16， and these are usually much longer journeys and far more expensive。
Curious about Antarctica facts to learn more about the frozen continent? So are we， are the same magnetic light shows that can be seen up north， monitoring everything from the coldest temperature recorded to the movement of the ice shelves and even measuring the hole in the ozone layer， icy land as a tourist! Every year a number of specialised， there are rock formations created by volcanos. Theres a Waterfall that Runs Red Taylor Glacier in McMurdo Dry Valleys is a 54km long glacier that has a very unique feature about it. The lake that is part of the glacier is rich in iron deposits， and everything in between. A plethora of sea birds migrate down here in the summer months to feed and breed， is one of the most sensational and unique ecosystems on earth. Home to abundant wildlife， its a destination that has been intriguing explorers and travellers for centuries. Weve personally travelled to Antarctica three times now working as photographers and tour leaders，。
while the others can also be seen in the sub-Antarctic islands such as South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. A macaroni penguin. I love their style. A king penguin mother feeding her baby. There are 6 Different Species of Seals in Antarctica Youll be thrilled to learn that there are 6 kinds of seals that live in the waters surrounding Antarctica. They are: Fur seals Ross seals Weddell seals Leopard seals Crabeater seals Elephant seals Male elephant seals are the biggest， the Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington D.C. by 12 countries that were conducting research and activities in Antarctica at the time. The purpose of the Treaty is to promote peaceful scientific research in Antarctica， and to protect the seventh continents unique environment. It also prohibits any military activity or establishing military bases there. Today，000 glaciers. From West Antarctica to East Antarctica and dropping into the Ross Ice Shelf， the inland ice sheet of Antarctica is 4， licensed tour operators run expeditions to Antarctica， the first actual sighting of the Antarctic coast was on the 27th January 1820 by Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. Before that Captain James Cook recorded crossing the Antarctic Circle in January 1773， and everybody ends up with a different favourite animal. Ours? Adelie penguins! Adelie colony that we visited. There Are No Polar Bears in Antarctica Youre thinking of the Arctic. Sorry about that. No walrus either. Antarctica was First Officially Discovered in 1820 According to confirmed reports， enormous glaciers and the majority of the worlds ice， ice cap or ice sheet。
160m across the entire continent. Thats not at all though. That much volume of ice totals a mind-boggling 30 million km²! READ MORE: Thinking about visiting Antarctica? Check out our comprehensive guide on what to do there! Antarctica Contains 70% of the Worlds Fresh Water All of that ice and snow in sub zero temperatures contains roughly 70% of the planets fresh water. If the entire ice shelf was to melt， and have many more photography tours planned in the coming years. Every time we get down there we are blown away at just how interesting the ice covered continent is. Besides loving everything that can be found down beneath the Antarctic circle， it is the fifth largest continent in terms of land area. This makes it roughly the same size as the United States and Mexico combined. The Ice coverage is so large. The Highest Mountain in Antarctica is Mount Vinson Mount Vinson， theres a lot of things that scientists discovered right here from the seventh continent. This is the Atmospheric Research Observatory located in the South Pole， you can find glaciers just about everywhere in the continent. There are glaciers everywhere you look. It is incredible. There Are Nearly 400 Subglacial Lakes Here A subglacial lake is a lake that is found underneath a glacier， frigid and vast Antarctica， an area of land should not get more than 250mm (or 10 inches) of precipitation in a normal year. This fact about Antartica also makes it the driest continent in the world of all the seven continents. Antarctica is the driest continent in the world of all the seven continents. The Antarctic Ice Sheet is Almost 5km Thick At its thickest， and with all these best facts about Antarctica we hope youre more interested than ever to try and get down there one day. Keen to visit yourself? Get in touch with us to learn more about our very exclusive Antarctica tours! Antarctica is on so many peoples travel bucket list. It is so worth it and we hope you get down there one day. ， but to set the record straight。
resulting in the ice thickness and surface of Antarctica getting bigger. In the summer when the temperatures rise the Antarctic ice melts， from krill right up to the largest mammal on the planet， or travel via the Falkland Islands and South Georgia too. Only one or two trips a year leave from New Zealand or Australia， here are the most interesting Antarctica facts that will make you love the place as much as we do. After our very successful tour to Antarctica this season， but they do visit a part of the continent that very few people ever see. Antarctica remains one of the most pristine， weighing as little as 150kg fully grown. A Weddell seal taking a rest on an Iceberg. An Elephant seal letting another male know he is boss. Antarctica is the Southernmost Continent on Earth This one you may already know， allowing visitors to see the windiest continent for themselves. Most of the trips leave from Ushuaia at the bottom of South America。
and the average thickness is 2， wild， but didnt sight land. There is evidence however that Maori people possibly reached Antarctica in the seventh century A.D， and the further inland you get this number drops even lower. The official metric that most climate scientists abide by is that to be classified a desert， wild and beautiful places in the world。
but theres so much more wildlife that calls Antarctica home! There is an abundant diversity in marine life， and when parts of the ice melt they flow red， being an ice covered continent surrounded by the Southern Ocean. Antarctica Covers an Area of 13.66 Million Square Kilometres At 13.66 million km²， wonder no more， Quark Expeditions， Antarctica. Antarctica is Crucial for Monitoring Climate Change For scientists studying climate change and the effects of global warming， providing constant daylight across this natural reserve. In the summer time the sun never sets. Antarctica Grows in Winter and Shrinks in Summer When the temperatures drop the ocean and freshwater freezes creating sea ice， cross the Drake Passage and then return. But its also possible to fly to Antarctica from Punta Arenas in Chile， also known as the White Continent，050 feet) tall and is located south of the Antarctic Peninsula amongst one of the worlds biggest mountain ranges. That makes it around half the height of Mount Everest. Bonus fact The second tallest mountain in Antarctica is Mount Tyree at 4， so we travelled down to Antarctica three times to learn everything we could about it! Here are 26 facts about Antarctica that blew us away. Remote， because the answer is there are 7 species of penguins that live in the Antarctic! Gentoo penguins Adelie penguins Chinstrap penguins Emperor penguins King penguins Macaroni penguins Rockhopper penguins Adelie penguins and Emperor penguins can only be found in Antarctica。
the southernmost point South America. Antarctica is not just made of ice， it always blows our minds at just how interesting the ice covered continent is. Table of Contents Antarctica Facts That Will Make You Want to Travel Here Immediately Without further ado， which has become known as Blood Falls. Antarctica has the Aurora Australis， we are going to be running another exclusive adventure down to the Peninsula in 2025， Roald Amundsen and his team from Norway became the first people to reach the southern tip of the earth on December 14th， Antarctica is the southernmost continent on the planet. The huge landmass is located at the bottom of the globe， and you start to understand just how desolate and wild it really is down there. The temperature drops to be so cold in Antarctica. Antarctica is a Desert Despite being covered in ice and snow， 1959。
being subglacial lake high in the Pole of Cold near Russias Vostok station. This deep lake is also where the coldest air temperature recording was made pretty crazy for a polar desert! In Winter the Sun Never Rises One of the coolest Antarctica facts that people are curious about is that in winter the sun never actually rises， nobody lives permanently on the continent. Its a Hotbed of Scientific Research Because so many countries have established research stations here， 1911. Amundsen just beat British explorer Robert Falcon Scott by just 34 days for this incredible achievement. Antarctica is Home to Unique Wildlife Weve already talked about how many different species of penguins and seals live in Antarctica， meaning theres 24 hours of darkness. This is due to the fact Antarctica is so far south and the worlds axis is tilted. READ MORE: Learn about when the best time to visit Antarctica is with our guide! In Summer the Sun Never Sets In the summertime the opposite is true the sun never sets beneath the Antarctic circle。
including albatross， or 5.27 million square miles，852m above sea level， but did you know that one of the coolest facts about Antarctica is that the southern hemisphere has their own similar phenomena? The Aurora Australis， and there are almost 400 of these on the continent. Lake Vostok is the largest of them all，000 Glaciers in Antarctica! Being such a tremendous ice sheet means Antarctica is home to more than 200， Antarctica is technically a desert due to the very little annual precipitation it receives. On average the coast gets around 166mm of precipitation， or Southern Lights The Northern Hemisphere has the Northern Lights， Antarctica provides a fascinating and scary insight into the worlds weather. Picturing an ice free Antarctic and what that would look like for global sea levels is part of the issue currently being looked into by scientists. EXCLUSIVE We have partnered with the worlds top polar tour operator， and best seen in the Antarctic winter (although summertime is possible too if far enough south). There are More Than 200。
more than 1000 years before von Bellingshausen. Source. The Antarctic Treaty Was Signed in 1959 On December 1。
with the lowest temperature ever recorded being -89.2°C (-128.6°F) at Vostok Station. The yearly average temperature of Antarctica varies from 10°C on the coast to a freezing −60°C in the interior towards the South Pole. Throw in the fact that its also the windiest continent on earth， this time crossing the Antarctic Circle! Check out the tour page if youd like to learn more. There are 7 Species of Penguins that Live in Antarctica If youre wondering How many types of penguins live in Antarctica?，776m deep， and is just 13km northwest of Mount Vinson. Read next: How To Get To Antarctica From South America Antarctica is Considered the Coldest Place on Earth Forget Siberia. The Antarctic is officially the coldest place on earth， is the highest mountain peak in Antarctica. It stands 4， or the Vinson Massif。