Antarctica Facts: Fast Facts On The Massive Ice Continent For Kids!

Antarctica contains about 90% of the world's fresh water under its ice sheets; however, it's also the world's coldest place, which makes it impossible for humans to settle in the continent.

Apart from all the wonderful facts about Antarctica, the Antarctica peninsula is also the fifth-largest continent. As it is known that the entire continent is covered in ice, however, the continent also has several mountain ranges and active volcano bodies, the whole area is almost five times the size of Australia.

Humans are found almost everywhere in the world, we have built countries in every corner of the world. However, Antarctica is an exception, there is no permanent settlement in the antarctic and the whole continent has the lowest temperature ever.

The Antarctic is the coldest continent on earth, which is why no human population lives there, since the entire continent is covered with an ice sheet, and covers around 90% of the world's freshwater that lies under Antarctica's ice.

Around the continent, a number of settlements can be seen near the south pole, but the Antarctic peninsula is generally occupied by research stations. The whole continent covers around 5.5 million square miles, storing the majority of the world's ice and southern ocean areas.

However, as shocking as it may seem, Antarctica in reality is a desert.

Although Antarctica being a desert might seem an absurd concept, deserts are often portrayed as sand dunes and cactuses. Antarctica is known to be a desert since its yearly or annual precipitation is very less.

It's also very interesting to know that it took the Antarctic ice sheet around 40 plus million years to come to the thickness that it is today. The continent receives very little rainfall and Antarctica has ice due to rainfall, which accumulated over time.

Thus, it took the Antarctic peninsula an incredible amount of time to become the polar desert that it is today.

The continent is also home to numeral tourist attractions, because of which people visit Antarctica. Mount Erebus and the active volcano ranges in the antarctic are something special to experience.

East Antarctica is filled with many wonderful things, which makes people visit Antarctica every year. Scientists believe that several years ago that the Antarctic wasn't the ice desert that it is today; but rather, it was lush with greenery and home to various species, and not just penguins.

Around 50 million years back, the place inhabited species such as dinosaurs as well and had active green land.

Though today, the Antarctic is the largest ice desert, so things weren't the same some 50 million years back. Something that sets Antarctica apart from other continents is that this continent has a large area and still no sign of permanent human living.

Is it illegal to be in Antarctica?

Antarctica is on the south pole of the world map, and it's mainly inhabited by researchers and scientists, thus you can find many research stations on the continent, which is why it's also known as the continent of science.

The name Antarctica comes from the Greek language; the continent was given the name Antarctic since it's opposite to the arctic. The entire continent is dry, windy, and filled with ice.

The Antarctic ice sheet is around a million square miles.

Antarctica is mainly used for research by various scientists and the country doesn't have a single leader. Antarctica is governed by many countries through what we call the Antarctic Treaty.

There are many countries which are closed to this continent, some of them are Austria and Argentina. Even though Antarctica doesn't have any permanent settlement, one must require a passport when traveling through Antarctica.

However, it's not illegal to live in Antarctica since the country is not ruled by anyone, it's governed by several other countries not owned by them. This is why there is no immigration office or border control since there is no leader in the antarctic.

Thus, anyone can visit Antarctica, however, one passport is required to visit Antarctica.

Antarctica is divided into two parts, east Antarctica and West Antarctica and one can visit any of them. However, if one fails to follow the given protocols, they might put themselves in danger since Antarctica is a massive polar desert, and the chances of infection are the highest.

Has anyone been born in Antarctica?

Antarctica lies on the south pole of the globe, the Antarctic peninsula is filled with ice and also is home to 90% of the world's ice. Although, Antarctica also has various lake and ocean bodies, and is home to polar bears and penguins, still permanent settlement in this icy continent is yet not a reality.

Earth is home to various continents and all of them are unique in their own ways. However, when it comes to Antarctica, the reality is a little different.

This icy continent on earth is filled with scientists which have their research stations and apart from a research station, there is absolutely no human settlement.

Antarctica has remained to be a popular tourist attraction and is very often visited by many people on a yearly basis. The sea, lake, and ocean bodies in Antarctica are something to experience.

However, despite no permanent settlement on Antarctica, there have been human babies born on this continent which lies in the south pole. One of the most amazing facts about Antarctica is that it has the lowest infant mortality out of all countries on this earth.

But, the stories of these eleven babies born in Antarctica are even more wonderful.

During the '70s and '80s, two countries sent several pregnant women to Antarctica, with the motive of gaining a claim on this continent. Thus, even though on average there is absolutely no human life in Antarctica and it's a home for penguins and several other sea species, 11 human babies have been born in Antarctica.

Why do planes not fly over Antarctica?

Antarctica is one of the most unique places on earth, there are several fascinating facts about Antarctica, and all of them seem to amaze in one way or another. However, as Antarctica lies in the extreme south pole, it makes it difficult for human settlements to last.

Thus either Antarctica is a workstation for scientists or a home for species such as penguins or polar species that lives in the sea.

The only settlement that can be seen in Antarctica is the one by scientists. There are several other problems with Antarctica that make data transfer through this continent difficult.

Nonetheless, when it comes to navigation and planes flying over Antarctica the same problem persists. Since Antarctica lies in a polar region, it comes with various navigation concerns.

The polar region makes it difficult for planes to communicate with navigation that's sent from land. The magnetic field also interferes greatly, which makes it difficult to control the flight.

Antarctica is also very prone to numeral storms, which can be a problem for pilots. Hence, it's generally not preferred to fly over the continent for these reasons, since the magnetic field often makes it difficult to run the flight smoothly.

What language is spoken in Antarctica?

Antarctica doesn't have its own civilization or cultural background, the same place isn't also ruled by a leader. Through the Antarctica treaty, a number of countries govern Antarctica together.

Antarctica is home to numeral species, the place has lake and sea bodies and on average also has numeral storms. The whole continent is very cold and dry and not very welcoming to humans in any way.

However, due to which there are no human settlements on the planet. The only settlements that can be seen on the continent are by scientists, running various research facilities.

Thus, due to this, the continent is also known as the continent of science.

There is no official language that is being spoken on the continent since there is no native civilization of the continent. However, the most common language that is being spoken in Antarctica is Russian, after that English is the second most common language being spoken in Antarctica.