12 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ANTARCTICA YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW

12 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ANTARCTICA YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW

Introduction

The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was minus 128.56 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 89.2 degrees Celsius), registered on July 21, 1983, at Antarctica's Vostok station.

You probably never realized how awesome that big block of ice at the bottom of the world is. These are 25 fact about Antarctica that are so cool they’re freezing!

1. Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, highest and driest continent on the planet.

1. Antarctica is a desert, even though it holds 70 percent of the world’s freshwater.

1. The annual snow accumulation across much of East Antarctica adds up to less than two inches of rain.

1. This is actually very comparable to the Sahara Desert

1. In wintertime, the sea ice around Antarctica grows at the rate of 40,000 square miles a day.

1. Only 2 percent of the continent is actually exposed

1. Antarctica’s ice is so heavy that it deforms the South Pole

1. In fact, its weight makes the Earth look slightly pear shaped

1. Antarctica holds the top spot for the lowest recorded temperature on Earth, which was -129°F (-84.5°C) at the Russian Vostok station in 1983.

1. At this temperature steel will shatter and water will explode into ice crystals.

1. Nature's power is seldom seen as ferocious as it is in Antarctica, making this one of the most inhospitable places on earth.

1. The continent experiences regular Katabatic (downhill) winds, reaching 300 km per hour (185 miles/hour), that blow out of the continental interior

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