Here are 10 fun facts about Antarctica:
– Antarctica is the highest, driest, coldest and windiest continent on Earth.
– Antarctica holds 60-90% of the world’s fresh water.
– Antarctica is technically a desert, as it receives very little annual precipitation.
– Antarctica used to be as warm as Melbourne, with temperatures reaching up to 62.6°F (17°C) around 40-50 million years ago.
– The Antarctic Peninsula is one of the most rapidly warming areas on Earth.
– There is no Antarctic time zone, as the lines of longitude all meet at a single point at the South Pole.
– Every direction is north when standing at the South Pole.
– Antarctica is home to several volcanoes, and two of them are active.
– There’s a subglacial lake that flows blood red due to the presence of a subglacial lake high in salt and oxidized iron.
– Diamond dust, made of tiny ice crystals, can be found floating in the air in Antarctica.
