Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

28

antarctica

frozen seas

During the cold winter months,

the seas surrounding Antarctica

freeze, almost doubling the size

of the continent.

transantarctic

mountains

The Transantarctic

Mountains run across

the continent, splitting

it into East and

West Antarctica.

ross ice shelf

Ice shelves are permanent

floating ice sheets that are

attached to land and

are constantly fed by

glaciers.The Ross Ice Shelf

is 600–3,000 ft (183–914 m)

thick and about 600 miles

(966 km) long.

statistics

area: 5,405,430 sq miles

(14,000,000 sq km)

Population: no

permanent residents

capital: none

Languages: english,

spanish, french,

norwegian, chinese,

Polish, russian,

German, Japanese

Religions: not applicable

currency: none

Main occupation:

scientific research

Main exports: none

Main imports: none

lambert Glacier

The Lambert Glacier is the world’s largest

series of glaciers. It is 60 miles (100 km)

wide at the coast and reaches more

than 250 miles (400 km) inland.

foreiGn territories

antarctica was first discovered in

the 19th century. since then, various

nations, including australia, france,

new zealand, norway, argentina,

chile, and the uK, have claimed

territory. however, these claims have

been suspended under the 1959

antarctic treaty, which came into

force in 1961. under the treaty,

the continent can be used only for

peaceful purposes. stations may

be set up for scientific research, but

military bases are forbidden.

antarctic ice

icebergs barricade more than 90 percent of the antarctic

coastline. the continent contains more than 80 percent of

the world’s fresh water in the form of ice.

whale Protection

large-scale whale hunting in antarctic seas

began in the 20th century. the whale population

soon fell, and in 1948 the international whaling

commission was set up to monitor the diminishing

numbers. following an international agreement in

1994, a whale sanctuary was created to protect whale

feeding grounds from overfishing.

Volcano Mountain Capital

city

Large

city/

town

Small

city/

town

Research

station

Ancient

monument

0

0 500 1000

500 1000

scaLE BaR

km

miles

n

S

W e

Ellsworth

Land

Princess

Elizabeth

Land

Lambert

Glacier

Enderby

Land

Kemp

Land

Coats

Land

Ronne

Ice Shelf

Palm

er

(^) L
a
nd
M
a
ri
e
Byr
d Land
Vi
ct
or
ia
(^) L
an
d
Queen Maud
Land
L
a
n
d
W
i
l
k
e
s
aNtaRctica
PEtER i isLaND
(to Norway)
East
West Antarctica
Antarctica
south
Pole
Cape Darnley
Cape
Poinsett
A
n
ta
rc
tic
(^) Pe
nin
su
la
south
Geomagnetic
Pole
George V
Oates Land
Land
Tr
an
sa
nt
ar
ct
ic
(^) M
ou
n
ta
in
s
Cape Adare
South Shetland
Islands
South Orkney
Islands
Berkner
Island
Alexander
Island
King George
Island
Roosevelt
Island
Weddell
Sea
Bellingshausen
Sea
Mackenzie Bay
Davis
Sea
Prydz Bay
D
ra
k
e^
P
as
sa
ge
SO
UT
HER
N^ OCEA
N S O U T H E
RN
(^)
OCEAN
S O U T H E R N O C E A N A m u n d
se
n
(^) S
ea
Ros
s
Se
a
S
c
o
ti
a
S
ea
Lim
it of (^) su
pack mmer
(^) ice (De
cember)
Lim
it (^) of w
inter pack^ ice^ (
June)^
Vinson Massif
4897m
Mount Erebus
3794m
Mount Sidley
4181m
amundsen-Scott
(to US)
vostok
(to russian Federation)
Ross Ice
Shelf
Shackleton
Ice Shelf
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