1. Antarctica

2. Antarctica lies wholly within the antarctic polar circle.
The total area of the continent is 14 mln sq km.
The average height over the sea level is 580 m.

3. Antarctica is the most isolated continent surrounded by the oceanic water on all sides.
It is the only continent in the Earth covered with ice all over.
The nearest continent is South America.

4. Antarctica was discovered only at the beginning of the 19th century
Antarctica was discovered only at the beginning of the 19th century. The honour of discovery fell on a Russian expedition under the command of Fadei Bellingshausen and Michael Lazarev.

5. The South Pole was reached in 1911 by the Norwegian explorer Raul Amundsen and by the English explorer Robert Scott a month later.

6. The expedition under the command of Amundsen was well - prepared
The expedition under the command of Amundsen was well - prepared. There trip lasted 99 days and they returned to Norway safe and sound. As for Scott, he and his people died on the way back.

7. Antarctica is the coldest continent in the world
Antarctica is the coldest continent in the world. It is the kingdom of permanent frost. The climate here is very severe. The to in winter is -70oC, in summer -30oC. The high atmospheric pressure belt forms the antarctic air masses, which are very cold and dry. The antarctic climatic belt is situated here. On the coastlines and near-by islands the to in summer is 0o + 10oC, in winter -16o-32oC. They lie in the subantarctic belt.

8. Antarctica is situated in the antarctic desert zone
Antarctica is situated in the antarctic desert zone. The vegetation and the animal life are poor here. Life exists mainly on the coasts and islands.
In summer, there are seaweeds, moss and lichen. The seas are rich in plankton and fish.

9. Seals, sea elephants, fur seals and whales live there
Seals, sea elephants, fur seals and whales live there. The birds as gulls, cormorants, petrels and albatrosses make their nests on the rocks in summer.

10. There are also 17 kinds of penguins in Antarctica
There are also 17 kinds of penguins in Antarctica. Antarctic Penguins, Subantarctic Penguins, Adele Penguins and King Penguins are among them.

11. You can find red, brown and green seaweeds
You can find red, brown and green seaweeds. They grow rapidly in spring and summer, when water gets a little warmer and the sunbeams can reach the bottom. A lot of sea animals eating seaweeds live there. They are small fish, different crabs and starfish, bath-sponges and others.

12. There are 140 stations here , 20 of which belong to Russia
Antarctica doesn’t belong to any state. On October 15, 1959 in Washington D.C. 12 countries signed an agreement which made Antarctica a neutral territory designed for scientific research only. Nowadays 38 countries are committed to this agreement.
There are 140 stations here , 20 of which belong to Russia

13. It is interesting to mention, that Russian stations are situated in the most dangerous regions of the continent.

14. Antarctica