* At 5.4 million miles, Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent.
* An ice sheet that covers some 98 percent of the continent holds about 90 percent of the earth’s fresh water.
* About 1,000 people, most of them researchers, live in Antarctica. The number can swell to 4,000 in summer.
* The lowest temperature recorded was 89 below zero in 1983.
*Antarctica is the coldest, driest, windiest, and southernmost continent, with the highest average elevation, 8,200 feet. Vinson Massif, its highest mountain, is 16,066 feet.
*Some fish that swim in Antarctic waters have a kind of antifreeze called glycopeptides in their bloodstream.
* The wingspan of an albatross can exceed 11 feet.
(Photo by Richard P. Carpenter)
No comments:
Post a Comment