Among the seven continents in the world, Antarctica is a unique continent that is full of ice and snow but there are some fascinating things that you might want to know about it. So let’s discover this magnificent continent through these interesting Antarctica facts for kids.
Antarctica Facts For Kids
Since there is zero rainfall on Antarctica so you can say that this continent is a desert.
Almost ninety percent clean water exists within the ice sheet of Antarctic.
Back in 1994, a very rare lake was turned up beneath the Antarctic ice sheet at the depth of nearly 2.5 miles and named as Lake Vostok. The entire water of the lake is in liquid state and it was seen by means of radar.
The magnitude of the ice sheets in Antarctic is so huge that in case it liquefies, it can easily flood cities of London,
New York and Hong Kong. The level of the sea waters will mount to almost 220 feet.
Emilio Palma, an Argentine national, is the first person to be born in Antarctica. He was born in January 7, 1978.
More Facts about Antarctica for Kids
You know 1/10th portion of our planet is covered with ice and out of these ninety percent ice is present in Antarctica.
The entire continent of Antarctica is enveloped in snowfall and ice as over 99% is snow.
There is a pond in Antarctica named as Don Juan Pond wherein the saline level is so high that bulky things can easily hover over the water surface. You can just imagine that this pond is almost twenty times more brackish than the ocean waters.
There are no local people in Antarctica which makes it a special continent in our planet.
In the summer season, once almost four thousand scientists happened to reside in Antarctica while one thousand in the winter season.
The experts are said to have pushed iceberg to Peru from Antarctic and covered a distance of nearly 2,400 miles.
Though there may be no humans but Emperor Penguins have certainly been in Antarctica for quite a while. They are the biggest penguins of the world and measuring nearly 3.5 feet in height.
Since there is hardly any area that is not covered with snow and ice, so there are zero land mammals living in Antarctica.
As compare to the Arctic region, there is not much plant life in this continent.
As the summer season approaches Arctic, this means the winter has arrived in Antarctica. Really it’s the other extreme here.
The size of the biggest peak in Antarctica is nearly 16,066 feet.
The animals inhabiting Antarctica are in large numbers. Prominent among these are penguins and seals.
The Belgica Antarctica is the largest insect species inhabiting Antarctica. Its length is about 1.3 cm (0.5 inch).
If the whole Antarctica’s ice melts down, the world’s oceans will rise by 60 – 70 per cent.
Ants occupy almost all the continents of the earth except Antarctica.
It is classified as the windiest continent on earth.
The deepest ice in Antarctica measures around 3 to 4 kilometers.
Climate of Antarctica
The winter season ranges from May to the end of August while summer extends from December to February. The inland plateau is known as polar desert. Not too much moisture is found in the air which is why people are likely to suffer from dehydration while working on ice.
Plants grow in Antarctica
Because of the extreme cold climate in this continent, plants generally do not grow in abundance. Antarctica does not offer some essential elements to its plants such as the inadequate amount of sunlight, poor soil quality, lack of moisture, and above all, consistent freezing temperatures. As a result plants grow in limited region. In this continent, some 25 species of liverworts and 100 species of mosses grow each year. The flora of Antarctica primarily consists of bryophytes. However, they grow only for few weeks or perhaps for few days in summer.
Learn more:
- Arctic Ocean Facts for Kids
Do you know any more Antarctica Facts For Kids? How about sharing your knowledge about Antarctica with us by commenting below.
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