Antarctica Map and Geography

Atarctica Map

Antarctica map

Antarctica  Is Earth’s Southernmost And Least-Populated Continent. Situated Almost Entirely South Of The Antarctic Circle And Surrounded By The Southern Ocean, It Contains The Geographic South Pole. Antarctica Is The Fifth-Largest Continent, Being Nearly Twice The Size Of Australia And Larger Than Europe, And Has An Area Of 14,200,000 Km2 (5,500,000 Sq Mi). Most Of Antarctica Is Covered By Ice, With An Average Thickness Of 1.9 Km (1.2 Mi).

Positioned Asymmetrically Around The South Pole And Largely South Of The Antarctic Circle (One Of The Five Major Circles Of Latitude That Mark Maps Of The World), Antarctica Is Surrounded By The Southern Ocean.

Rivers Exist In Antarctica, The Longest Being The Onyx. Antarctica Covers More Than 14.2 Million Km2 (5,500,000 Sq Mi), Making It The Fifth-Largest Continent, Slightly Less Than 1.5 Times The Area Of The United States. 

Its Coastline Is Almost 18,000 Km Long: As Of 1983, Of The Four Coastal Types, 44% Of The Coast Is Floating Ice In The Form Of An Ice Shelf, 38% Consists Of Ice Walls That Rest On Rock, 13% Is Ice Streams Or The Edge Of Glaciers, And The Remaining 5% Is Exposed Rock. The Lakes That Lie At The Base Of The Continental Ice Sheet Occur Mainly In The McMurdo Dry Valleys Or Various Oases.

Lake Vostok, Discovered Beneath Russia’s Vostok Station, Is The Largest Sub-Glacial Lake Globally, And One Of The Largest Lakes In The World. It Was Once Believed That The Lake Had Been Sealed Off For Millions Of Years, But Scientists Now Estimate Its Water Is Replaced By The Slow Melting And Freezing Of Ice Caps Every 13,000 Years. During The Summer, The Ice At The Edges Of The Lakes Can Melt, And Liquid Moats Temporarily Form. 

Antarctica

Antarctica

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Antarctica map is divided into West Antarctica and East Antarctica by the Transantarctic Mountains, which stretch from Victoria Land to the Ross Sea. The vast majority of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, which averages 1.9 km (1.2 mi) in thickness. The ice sheet extends to all but a few oases, which, with the exception of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, are located in coastal areas.[19] Several Antarctic ice streams flow to one of the many Antarctic ice shelves, a process described by ice-sheet dynamics.

Vinson Massif, in the Ellsworth Mountains, is the highest peak in Antarctica at 4,892 m (16,050 ft). Mount Erebus on Ross Island is the world’s southernmost active volcano and erupts around 10 times each day. Ash from eruptions has been found 300 km190 mi) from the volcanic crater. There is evidence of a large number of volcanoes under the ice, which could pose a risk to the ice sheet if activity levels were to rise. 

The ice dome known as Dome Argus in East Antarctica is the highest Antarctic ice feature, at 4,091 m (13,422 ft). It is one of the world’s coldest and driest places—temperatures there may reach as low as −90 °C (−130 °F), and the annual precipitation is 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in). Find Great Antarctica trip and Antarctica cruises ideas with us!

Vinson Massif Vinson Massif from the northwest, the highest peak in Antarctica East Antarctica comprises Coats Land, Queen Maud Land, Enderby Land, Mac. Robertson Land, Wilkes Land, and Victoria Land. All but a small portion of the region lies within the Eastern Hemisphere. East Antarctica is largely covered by the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. There are numerous islands surrounding Antarctica, most of which are volcanic and very young by geological standards. The most prominent exceptions to this are the islands of the Kerguelen Plateau, the earliest of which formed around 40 Ma.