HannahBeth

Antarctica

** Location ** ** Absolute ** The absolute position, longitude and latitude, of Antarctica is 90 degrees South and 0 degrees East or West. The cause is that it is mainly in the Antarctic Circle. Some of Antarctica isn’t though, but the parts that aren’t do not touch a latitude line. That is why latitude is at 0 degrees East or West. The continent of Antarctica is at the southern most point of the world. Its closest neighbor is South America. Atarctica has the South Pole, but there isn’t actually a pole. Although there is a station there. The station is called the U.S. South Pole Station. ** Relative ** Antarctica is near Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and South America. The waterways Antarctica is near are the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Indian Ocean. Antarctica used to be near the equator when the supercontinent was still formed. Although when it broke apart Antarctica drifted south.

** Place ** ** Physical Features ** Antarctica has a below degree climate. It is one of the coldest places on Earth. It is called a cold desert and there are no trees or shrubs. The lowest temperature recorded was -125.3 degrees F. It was recorded at the Vostok Station on August 25, 1958. That makes sense because it would have been winter in Antarctica at this time. There are mountains and volcanoes here. Another physical feature is the waterways. Although lake and rivers are usually frozen over here, there are meltwater rivers and streams. HEI

Antarctica is one of the most pristine places in the world. Although not as pristine as everybody thinks. For more than one hundred years people have disturbed its beauty. Some species have been driven to the verge of extinction. Soils have been contaminated, sewage has been let out into the sea, and rubbish that does not decompose has been left behind even in the most remote places. The consequences were pollution, extinction of very few species, and litter. Today there are clean-up crews and restricted areas for wildlife. ** Movement ** There are many traditonal foods and activities. This is reasonable because no one country specifically owns Antarctica. Many scientists visit it here in summer. Which is our winter. They dig and identify soils, plants, fossils, and animals. They mainly are there for research though. There are around 200 non-native species in the islands of Antarctica. One in particular, the ground beetle, could wipe out a few native species of insects there. Another porblem is the flies. They strive in the cold enviroment. [|__http://www.livescience.com/6624-invasive-species-thrive-antarctic-islands.html__]

Regions You could fit about 1 and 1/2 United States inside of Antarctica. It is a rough look at it though. Antarctica looks sort of like a tucan if you tip it more westwards. The beak and one buldging eye shows obviously. Antarctica is very well known for its ice. About 61 percent of the world's freshwater is in and around its ice sheets. It is also well known for the South Pole. Although most people do not realise there is a staion there, it is called the South Pole Station.

= Nobody completely owns Antarctica, but there are claims allowed. Check out this website [] .Although the claims overlap Antarctica is mainly used for research. Countries thought everybody should be able to do research in Antarctica so they made claims instead of fighting over it. Some claims are from: New Zealand, Australia, France, Chile, Great Brittan, Norway, and Argentina. There is a section unclaimed though. Also an interesting fact is that Antarctica is a goldmine for oil, but some countries don’t want to start drilling for oil until there is no other oil left in the world. The Antarctica Treaty banns drilling and mining in Antarctica too. =