Which Continent is known as the "White Continent" of the world?
Things that you must know about the white continent of the world
Our world is the most precious gift that God had ever created for us. This mesmerizing planet is full of innumerable natural beauties where many are discovered and many thousands of places are yet to explore by human beings. Although the developed science and technology of human beings in recent times make it very easy for us to travel beyond our imagination however human's struggle to adjust to all ecological conditions prevailing in nature is as yet continuing.
There are seven continents in the world i.e Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Australia or Oceania, and Antarctica. Out of these seven continents, total area and population-wise "Asia" concedes the top position, where 59.54% of the world population are living on this mainland. But on the contrary, Antarctica is the 5th largest continent in the world but the population share is "0.00%" i.e there are no permanent residents living in Antarctica.
(The White Continent)-
Yes, it's Antarctica which is also known as the "white continent of the world". But the fact of the matter is why Antarctica is unique from all rest of the continents? Although it is very difficult to explain a whole lot of facts about a continent on a single page, however in this article, we will come to know numerous mysterious realities about this vast continent which are just enough to differentiate Antarctica from the rest of the world.
Where is Antarctica?- (The geographical location of Antarctica):
"Antarctica", which is also known as the "White continent or the Frozen continent of the world" is located entirely southernmost part of the world. This is the highest coldest and windiest place on the planet earth located at the south pole. In simple words, Antarctica is the largest single piece of ice on Earth where you can see only ice and ice.
How big is Antarctica?
This largest frozen continent is about 5.5 million square miles i.e 14.2 million square km in size and where 98% of the land area is covered only with thick ice. On average these ice sheets are 1.6 km thick. It is found that 90% of the total ice of the world is found only in Antarctica and is covered approximately 20% of the whole southern hemisphere.
Antarctica is also considered a desert and is not only famous for its coldest weather but it is the driest, windiest, and iciest place that has ever been found in the world.
Discovery of Antarctica/ Who discovered Antarctica?:
Who discovered Antarctica first and when it was discovered? Actually, the discovery of this mysterious and vast continent is very controversial because the exploration of Antarctica or this region is very old. In fact, the discovery and early exploration of Antarctica involve many nations so its actual discovery is very controversial to this day.
However; in many sources of history, it is said that Captain James cook a British explorer was the first person who crossed the Antarctic circle with his ships and crew HMS Resolution and HMS Adventure on the 17th of January 1773, on the Ross sea region. However, they didn't catch sight of Antarctica itself but discovered a nearby island and it is believed that he was as closed to Antarctica with a distance of 240 km or 150 miles from the mainland. During his journey, he also claimed that he saw a deposit of rock within 80 km or 50 miles that were held in icebergs which indicates the presence of more southerly land.
On the other side, it is said that John Davis a British-American sealing captain had first landed in the Antarctica continent on the 7th of February 1821 with his ship Cecilia at Hughes Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula however this claim was also controversial.
Later, during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration i.e in the early 20th century Norwegian Roald Amundsen finally reached the south pole on 14th December 1911 following a tragic and dramatic race with the explorer Briton Robert Falcon Scott.
Does anyone live in Antarctica?/ Who lives in Antarctica?
Who can live in a place where temperatures can drop down to (-90° C) in the winter? The weather condition of Antarctica is so mercurial that the survivability of humans in such an environment becomes too challenging to adopt.
(The population of Antarctica)-
So no resident has ever lived permanently in Antarctica. However, some groups of researchers are sometimes found and this causes the population to reach up to 5000 in the summer but in winter it again decreases to 1000, but no one in the region is permanent for long.
Well, if "Antarctica" is not a suitable place for people to live, what else does this vast plot of land live in? Are there any other animals living in Antarctica, and who are they if there are? Details are given below.
"Antarctica animals or the Animals in Antarctica":-
Apart from the large sheets of ice, Antarctica is also known for its huge family of diverse animals and birds in the region. Although those groups of animals look very pretty in pictures and videos but in reality, their life is not as simple as we think.
This large piece of land has many varieties of animals and birds to mention such as" Penguin, Whales, Marine, Seals, Albatrosses, Seabirds and a range of invertebrates such as Krills are the few on the list.
It is said that out of the 17 different penguin species in the world, seven (7) types are found in Antarctica, where (4) live and nest around the Antarctic continent, and the rest (3) live and nest in the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Islands.
Moreover, all the 17 species of different penguins in the world are living exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere except the "Galapagos penguin". "Galapagos penguins" live in the Northern Hemisphere that spans a narrow band at the equator in the Galapagos Islands. Hence Antarctica is also called the "Empire of the Penguin".
The survival of these animals in such a cold environment is as challenging as the people of Antarctica. Since these animals' life is dependent on the sea, hence they are generally warm-blooded and can sustain and survive in the extreme and persistent cold.
But, most of the animals in the south polar region are seasonal visitors because it is quite difficult for most of the animals to live in the extreme cold of the winter. However, Antarctica can support such an abundance of animals only because of the southern polar sea.
There are no trees in Antarctica, however, it comprises some shrubs and flowering plants like Antarctic hair grass and Antarctic pearlwort, lichen, algae, fungi, and bacteria.
Weather in Antarctica:-
How cold is it in Antarctica? Probably you have already realized how cold could be in Antarctica. Well, as mentioned earlier the weather condition of Antarctica is the coldest on earth. It is said that, if you throw boiling water into the air it will instantly vaporize and where a large portion of the particles will steam and the rest will quickly change over into small pieces of ice.
The annual average temperature in Antarctica generally ranges from about (-10° C) on the coast to (-60° C) at the highest part of the interior. In summer, the temperature can surpass (+10° C) close to the coast and tumble to underneath (-40° C) in the colder time of year. However, over the raised inland, it can ascend to about (-30° C) in summer and fall below (-80° C) in winter. The lowest temperature ever recorded on the earth's surface was (-89.2° C) at Vostok station( Russian Research Center in Antarctica) on 21 July 1983.
Mountains in Antarctica (Highest mountain peaks in Antarctica):
The first thing that usually comes to everyone's mind when we think about Antarctica is the "iceberg" and then we think about the beautiful empire of penguins, the extreme level of cold, and its fastest blowing cold air. However, not many of us know that Antarctica has high-elevated mountains as well.
Primarily, Antarctica is dominated by three major mountain range systems and they are-
1. The Antarctandes, aka the Antarctic Peninsula Cordillera (Runs the full length of the Antarctic Peninsula also known as Graham and Palmer land)
2. The Ellsworth Mountains and the Sentinel range are in the south of Antarctandes.
3. The Transantarctic Mountain range runs from the North to the South and divides the continent into East and West Antarctica.
In these three ranges, Antarctica has many mountains though if we only discuss Antarctica's top three highest mountain peaks then the list below will be like this.
1. Mount Vinson- Mount Vinson is the highest mountain in Antarctica with a peak height of 4892m/ 16,050 ft. This mountain is basically a part of the Vinson Massif's summit plateau in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains.
Mount Vinson was first climbed by an American team led by Nicholas Clinch in the year 1966.
2. Mount Tyree- Mount Tyree is the second-highest mountain in Antarctica which has a peak height of 4852m/ 15,919 ft located in the Sentinel Range. Mount Tyree was first summited in 1967 and since then it was been successfully climbed only a handful of times.
3. Mount Shinn- Mount Shinn is situated in the Ellsworth Mountains of the Sentinel Range in Antarctica and it has a height of 4661m/ 15,292 ft. It is knowns as the third highest mountain in Antarctica.
First Indian Woman to reach Antarctica:-
"Meher Moos"- A traveler who loves exploring the world's most inaccessible places and has visited more than 180 countries in 50 years is the first Indian woman to reach Antarctica in 1977.
This incredible woman from India has many adventure stories in her lifetime and has the most unusual travel records of 180 different countries in the world. Moreover, she is the proud holder of the 18 passport pile and perhaps the most curious lone traveler in the world who loves to explore the most isolated and inaccessible areas of the world that can probably be accessed only by national geographic or discovery TV channels.
Can you go to Antarctica?
Can a common man travel to Antarctica or is this region open only to researchers and scientists? This is a very interesting question that many of us want to know. Well, visiting Antarctica with great honesty is of course a privilege for all of us but it also has some high levels of risk and responsibility.
No one needs a visa to go to Antarctica. But that doesn't mean you can pack your luggage and passport and travel to Antarctica easily. Because it's not really that easy to look at. Although no country owns Antarctica, however, all the activities in Antarctica are governed by the Antarctic Treaty Systems of 1959. The ATS or Antarctic Treaty system actually regulates international relations with regard to Antarctica. The main agreement was opened for signing on December 1, 1959, and was officially implemented on June 23, 1961. Initially, 12 countries signed the agreement but by 2020 it became an agreement of 54 other parties in the world.
The primary objective of this treaty is to administer and management of this region without hindering the geography, natural reserves, historical sites, and wildlife of Antarctica. It also involves some prescribed rules for the scientists and researchers working there for a long time to expand the knowledge of the world tirelessly under severe weather conditions.
Therefore, any citizen who is a resident of a country that has signed the Antarctic Treaty System must get permission from the ATS before traveling to Antarctica. However, if you want to go to Antarctica yourself and are a citizen of a country that does not sign the agreement, you do not need permission from the ATS, but you will probably be asked to register your intended travel, travel plans, and possible environmental impact and agree to comply with the terms of the agreement. You can even insist on taking some kind of permission at the ports you leave when you travel to Antarctica.
The best time to take a tour of Antarctica is from the end of October or starting of November to March i.e during the Antarctic summer season.
How Antarctica is helping the Earth?
"Antarctica" is called the world's most important "natural laboratory" because the continent is helping the world in many ways. Perhaps, the frozen environment and antarctica's large ice sheet are God's gifts that were offered to us to protect the world from global climate change. Yes, Antarctica's vast ice sheets act as a global thermostat and are controlling the world's climate systems.
Antarctica's white ice cover cools the atmosphere through the Albedo effect and removes some of the sun's rays from the Earth and keeps earth's temperature alive. On the other hand, the dark surface of the sea in Antarctica absorbs heat from the sun and plays an important role in the heat budget of the sea.
Antarctica has the cleanest air in the world and is full of fresh oxygen. 70% of the world's freshwater is available in Antarctica. Protecting Antarctica's environment is very important to the world because it helps to provide early warnings for global climate change and that is why antarctica researchers and scientists can show their bravery to work in such cold weather.
What if Antarctica melts?
It is believed that a small amount of ice melting in Antarctica could lead to global sea level rise and cause flooding around the world.
Day and Night in Antarctica:
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