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Table of Contents
Antarctica is Earth’s southernmost continent and is where the South Pole is located. It is in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere and is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent.
See the fact file below for more facts about Antarctica or alternatively download our comprehensive worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Capital
none
Population
no native people living in Antarctica
permanent and summer-staff research stations
Area
14 million sq. miles
Location
Antarctica is the southernmost continent and is basically surrounded by the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans
Government
Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December 1959 establishes the legal framework for the management of Antarctica
46 treaty member nations
Money
none
Climate
coldest, driest and windiest place on earth
East Antarctica is colder that West Antarctica because of its higher elevation
Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate temperature
Languages
no native language
History Of Antarctica:
- Antarctica has no indigenous population. There is no evidence of inhabitation prior to the 19th century.
- Some people believe that Antarctica exists to balance the northern lands of Europe, Asia, and North Africa.
- This belief is called “Terra Australis”, referring to a continent in the far south – this is where the name “Australia” comes from, as this wasn’t the name given to Antarctica.
- James Cook’s ships, HMS Resolution and Adventure crossed the Antarctic circle on January 17, 1773.
- The first confirmed sighting of Antarctica was in 1820 by three men.
- The Fimbul ice shelf was first recorded on a Russian Antarctic expedition in November of 1820.
- From that point onwards, various men from a variety of countries set out on expeditions to measure the ice shelves, take mineral, algae, and animal samples, and to conduct
geological and biological research.
The Terra Nova Expedition
- Captain Robert Falcon Scott of the British Navy, set off on the boat called Terra Nova Expedition – he and his crewarrived on January 4th, 1922. They built huts to live on shore until the spring.
- By the spring, Scott and his crew set off to explore the continent, but their sledges and ponies collapsed.
- Shortly following this, the entire crew died, one by one, from a combination of injuries, exposure to the cold, and starvation.
- It is known that the crew were just 11 miles from safety and food.
Geography of Antarctica
- Antarctica is the southernmost continent on earth.
- It is surrounded by the Southern Ocean.
- There are many rivers and lakes in Antarctica – the longest river is called the Onyx, and the largest lake is called Vostok.
- Vostok is one of the largest sub-glacial lakes in the world.
- Antarctica covers more than 14 million sq. km, which makes it the 5th largest continent.
Formations in Antarctica | Proportion of Antarctica |
Ice shelf (floating ice) | 44% |
Ice walls (ice on the ground) | 38% |
Ice streams and glaciers | 13% |
Rock | 5% |
Total: | 100% |
- Antarctica is divided into two parts by the Transantarctic Mountains.
- The Antarctic ice sheet (a sheet of ice) covers about 98% of Antarctica and is at least 1.6 km thick.
- Antarctica holds nearly 70% of the world’s fresh water.
- There are more than 70 lakes on Antarctica.
- The coldest recorded temperature ever recorded on earth was -89.2 degrees celsius (-128.6 degrees fahrenheit) at the Vostok Station in Antarctica.
- Simply put, Antarctica is a frozen desert with very little precipitation.
- Governments around the world maintain permanent research stations on the continent. There are usually 1,000 people manning these stations in the winter, and about 5,000 in the summer.
- There have been only a few people born on Antarctica.
- Animals living in Antarctica include penguins, blue whales, fur seals, microscopic mites, krill, orcas, and colossal squids.
- You could see King penguins, chinstrap penguins, gentoo penguins, southern rockhopper penguins, Adelie penguins (which are found the farthest south than any other penguin), and Emperor penguins.
- Around 1,150 species of fungi have been found on Antarctica – many of which have contributed to shaping various rock formations on the continent.
- Antarctica does not have diverse plant life, as the weather prevents this from happening.
- The Antarctic Conservation Act in the U.S in 1978 put in restrictions to U.S activity on the continent, which states that introducing new plans, extracting indigenous plants, and overfishing are not allowed on Antarctica.
Antarctica Worksheets
This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use Antarctica Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about Antarctica which is Earth’s southernmost continent and is where the South Pole is located. It is in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere and is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent.
Download includes the following worksheets:
- Antarctica Facts.
- Robert Scott Biography.
- Journeys to Antarctica.
- What To Do?
- Antarctica Wordsearch.
- Antarctica Scavenger Hunt.
- Penguins!
- Opinion Paragraph.
- Antarctica Crossword.
- Penguin Unscrambling.
- Design a Postcard.
Link/cite this page
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Link will appear as Antarctica Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, September 27, 2017
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.