5 HARD-TO-BELIEVE FACTS ABOUT ANTARCTICA THAT ARE 100% TRUE
Time in Antarctica is definitely not the usual. At the South Pole, the lines of longitude, which give us different time zones around the globe, all meet at a single point. Most of Antarctica experiences 6 months of constant daylight in summer and 6 months of darkness in winter. Time starts to feel a little different without the normal markers for day and night. THERE IS NO ANTARCTIC TIME ZONE The surface area of the Antarctica is around 5,400,000 sq mi (14,000,000 sq km). In the winter, Antarctica doubles in size because of the ice building up around the coast of it. The continent is twice the size of Australia, 1.5 times the size of the United States and 50 times the size of United Kingdom. ANTARCTICA IS 1.5X THE SIZE OF THE U.S.
In Antarctica around 1% of the continent (4,000 km or 2,500 mi) is permanently ice-free – such areas are called dry valleys or Antarctic oasis. They are thought to be the world’s harshest deserts and it is estimated that these areas haven’t seen rain or snow in almost 2 million years. According to one study led by Australian scientists, due to climate change ice-free areas in Antarctica could expand up to 25% by the end of 21st century. This could drastically change the biodiversity of the continent. PARTS OF ANTARCTICA HAVEN'T RECEIVED RAIN OR SNOW IN 2 MILLION YEARS
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THERE ARE 2 ATM'S IN ANTARCTICA
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“Our ATMs at McMurdo Station are the southernmost ATMs in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records,” Wells Fargo said. “In fact, they’re the only ones on the entire continent of Antarctica — kind of cool to say that.” David Parker, vice president of ATM Banking at Wells Fargo, says that the money circulated by the ATMs is constantly recycled so there is no need for cash vendors to replenish the supply. Only one ATM is in use. The other is for spare parts in the event the first one breaks. A technician is sent every 2 years to maintain the machines.
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ANTARCTICA IS A DESERT
Antarctica is the largest desert on earth, almost twice the size of the Sahara Desert. Unlike the Arctic, where floating sea ice melts and refreezes annually, Antarctica is a solid ice sheet lying on a solid continent. Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and most isolated continent on Earth, and its annual precipitation can be less than 51 mm in the interior. It's covered by a permanent ice sheet that contains 90% of the Earth's fresh water.
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