Amazing Facts About Antarctica

The name Antarctica is the romanized version of the Greek compound word ἀνταρκτική (ántarktiké), feminine of ἀνταρκτικός (ántarktikós), meaning "opposite to the Arctic", "opposite to the north"

The average thickness of Antarctic ice is about 1.6 kilometers.

The highest point on Antarctica is the Vinson Massif at 4,987 meters.

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first human to reach the South Pole. He beat out English explorer Robert Falcon Scott by arriving on Dec. 14, 1911, and planting the Norwegian flag.

The most abundant land animal on Antarctica is not the penguin, but the tiny nematode worm.

The male Emperor penguin is the only warm-blooded animal that remains on the Antarctic continent through the winter. It stays to nest on the single egg laid by its mate (the female spends nine weeks at sea and returns in time for the egg to hatch).

Antarctica is the largest desert in the world.

The coldest place on Earth is a high ridge in Antarctica where temperatures can dip below -93.2°C.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica is 14.5°C.

Some parts of Antarctica have had no rain or snow for the last 2 million years.

There are at least seven Christian churches in Antarctica.

Winds in some places of Antarctica can reach 320 km/h.

Antarctica has only one ATM.

Antarctica contains 90% of the world's ice

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