Antarctica is the southernmost continent, covered by a thick ice sheet containing 60% of the world’s fresh water. It has the most extreme climate, few animals, and only a few short rivers. Antarctica was once connected to South America and Australia, but broke away and became covered in ice. It was discovered in 1820 and is now home to research bases and a small population.
Antarctica is the southernmost continent on Earth, centered approximately around the South Pole. 98% of Antarctica is covered by a giant ice sheet, averaging 1.6 kilometers (1.0 miles) thick, which contains about 60% of the fresh water of the world. The continent has the most extreme climate of any continent, with the lowest temperatures in the world and the least rainfall. It is also the most lifeless continent, with animals living only near the coasts. Antarctica has only a couple of short rivers that flow only during the summer. The continent is inhabited mainly by researchers on temporary stays, with a population of about 4,000 during the summer and 1,000 during the winter.
As long ago as about 40 million years ago, Antarctica was still connected to South America by land, as well as being connected to Australia as part of a land continent called Gondwana. Gondwana was not located as close to the South Pole as Antarctica is today, and had a tropical to subtropical climate, complete with dense forests and marsupial fauna. Then, about 40 million years ago, Australia broke away from Antarctica, starting to isolate it. Around this time, an ice age began on Earth and Antarctica cooled, becoming more of a tundra climate.
23 million years ago, Antarctica finally broke away from South America and Drake Passage opened up, allowing a frigid circumpolar current to circle Antarctica. The ice age was in full swing, and the snow that hit the ground in Antarctica stopped melting, even during the summer, and continental ice sheets began to form. About 15 million years ago, most of the continent was covered in ice.
Antarctica was not discovered by humans until January 27, 1820, when Imperial Russian Navy Captain Von Bellingshausen sighted the Antarctic mainland from his ship. For millennia geographers had suspected the existence of a vast land in the extreme south – which they called “Terra Australis” – to “balance” the northern land masses. The reasoning isn’t particularly sound, but these geographers ended up being right.
Today, Antarctica is home to just over a dozen research bases, staffed by scientific researchers from over a dozen countries. Some families are also temporarily living in Antarctica, as their relatives work in the facilities there. There is also an Antarctic base at the South Pole itself.
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