NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Geography of Antarctica

The Blue ice covering Lake Fryxell, in the Transantarctic, comes from glacial meltwater from the Canada Glacier and other smaller glaciers. The fresh water stays on top of the lake and freezes, sealing in briny water below.

The geography of Antarctica is dominated by its south polar location and, thus, by ice. The Antarctic continent, located in the Earth's southern hemisphere, is centered asymmetrically around the South Pole and largely south of the Antarctic Circle. It's surrounded by the southern waters of the World Ocean – alternatively (depending on source), it is washed by the Southern (or Antarctic) Ocean or the southern Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. With an area of more than 14 million km², it is the fifth-largest continent and about 1.3 times larger than Europe. Shaded relief map of Antarctica developed from RADARSAT Synthetic Aperture Radar data. ... Shaded relief map of Antarctica developed from RADARSAT Synthetic Aperture Radar data. ... Animated, colour-coded map showing the various continents. ... This article is about the physical quantity. ... To help compare sizes of different areas, here is a list of areas between 10 million kmÂ² and 100 million kmÂ². See also areas of other orders of magnitude. ... Vinson Massif is the highest mountain of Antarctica, located about 1,200 km (750 mi) from the South Pole. ... The Bentley Sub-glacial Trench is a vast trench in Antarctica, 80Â°S, 115Â°W. At 2,555 meters (8,383 ft) below sea level, it is the lowest point on the surface of the earth not covered by ocean, although it is covered by ice. ... The subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Canada and Siberia, the north of Scandinavia, northern Mongolia and the Chinese province of Heilongjiang. ... The red line indicates the 10Â°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the region around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. ... This article is about water ice. ... Rock redirects here. ... For other uses, see Iron (disambiguation). ... REDIRECT [[ Insert text]]EWWWWWWWWWWWWW YO General Name, symbol, number chromium, Cr, 24 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 6, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 51. ... For other uses, see Copper (disambiguation). ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... For other uses, see Nickel (disambiguation). ... General Name, Symbol, Number platinum, Pt, 78 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 10, 6, d Appearance grayish white Standard atomic weight 195. ... Coal Example chemical structure of coal Coal (pronounced ) is a fossil fuel formed in swamp ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. ... Oil refineries are key to obtaining hydrocarbons; crude oil is processed through several stages to form desirable hydrocarbons, used in fuel and other commercial products. ... Families Euphausiidae Euphausia Dana, 1852 Meganyctiphanes Holt and W. M. Tattersall, 1905 Nematobrachion Calman, 1905 Nematoscelis G. O. Sars, 1883 Nyctiphanes G. O. Sars, 1883 Pseudeuphausia Hansen, 1910 Stylocheiron G. O. Sars, 1883 Tessarabrachion Hansen, 1911 Thysanoessa Brandt, 1851 Thysanopoda Latreille, 1831 Bentheuphausiidae Bentheuphausia amblyops Krill are shrimp-like marine... For other uses, see Crab (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Wind (disambiguation). ... This article is about the winter storm condition. ... This article is about the meteorological phenomenon. ... This article is about volcanoes in geology. ... The ozone layer is a layer in Earths atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3). ... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... Photo of Booth Island in Antarctica, taken February 2001 by User:Stan Shebs File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Photo of Booth Island in Antarctica, taken February 2001 by User:Stan Shebs File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Booth Island from the south, Lemaire Channel barely visible on the right Booth Island (or Wandel Island) is a rugged, Y-shaped island, 5 miles long and rising to 980 m, off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula in Antarctica in the northeastern part of the Wilhelm Archipelago. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1560x1083, 670 KB) En: The blue ice covering Lake Fryxell, in the Transantarctic Mountains, comes from glacial meltwater from the Canada Glacier and other smaller glaciers. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1560x1083, 670 KB) En: The blue ice covering Lake Fryxell, in the Transantarctic Mountains, comes from glacial meltwater from the Canada Glacier and other smaller glaciers. ... Blue ice covering Lake Fryxell in the Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica Blue ice occurs when snow falls on a glacier, is compressed, and becomes part of a glacier that winds its way toward a body of water (river, lake, ocean, etc. ... Lake Fryxell (77º37´S 163º11´E) is a lake 4. ... This article is about the geological formation. ... The Canada Glacier is a small glacier flowing southeast into the northern side of Taylor Valley immediately west of Lake Fryxell, in Victoria Land. ... Location of the polar regions Northern Hemisphere permafrost (permanently frozen ground) in purple. ... This article is about water ice. ... For other uses, see Antarctica (disambiguation). ... Animated, colour-coded map showing the various continents. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... southern hemisphere highlighted in yellow (Antarctica not depicted). ... For other uses, see South Pole (disambiguation). ... Zoomable PDF of the map this is based on The Antarctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. ... The term World Ocean refers to the interconnected system of the planet Earths marine waters. ... The Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, is the International Hydrographic Organizations oceanic division encircling Antarctica, comprising the southernmost waters of the World Ocean south of 60Â° S latitude. ... Pacific redirects here. ... The Atlantic Ocean, not including Arctic and Antarctic regions. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Some 98% of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, the world's largest ice sheet and also its largest reservoir of fresh water. Averaging at least 1.6 km thick, the ice is so massive that it has depressed the continental bedrock in some areas more than 2.5 km below sea level; subglacial lakes of liquid water also occur (e.g., Lake Vostok). Ice shelves and rises populate the ice sheet on the periphery. Only about 2% of the continent is uncovered by ice. A satellite composite image of Antarctica The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest single mass of ice on Earth. ... An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 kmÂ² (19,305 mileÂ²).[1] The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the last ice age at Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) the Laurentide ice sheet covered much... For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... Changes in the elevation of Lake Superior due to glaciation and post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (sometimes called continental rebound, isostatic rebound or isostatic adjustment) is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last ice age, through a process... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... Lake Vostoks location within Antarctica (NASA) Lake Vostok is the largest of more than 70 subglacial lakes in Antarctica. ... Ross Ice Shelf An ice shelf is a thick, floating platform of ice that forms where a glacier or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface. ... Sketch of the Antarctic coast with glaciological and oceanographic processes, showing ice rises within ice shelf An ice rise is a clearly defined elevation of the otherwise totally flat ice shelf, typically dome-shaped and rising 100 to 200 meters above the surrounding ice shelf. ...

Physically, Antarctica is divided in two by mountains close to the neck between the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea. Western Antarctica and Eastern Antarctica correspond roughly to the eastern and western hemispheres relative to the Greenwich meridian. This usage has been regarded as Eurocentric by some, and the alternative terms Lesser Antarctica and Greater Antarctica (respectively) are sometimes preferred. Map of Antarctica (click to enlarge) Ice in the Ross Sea, Antarctica The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land. ... The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean. ... The term Western Antarctica usually refers to that portion of Antarctica which Ross Sea and Weddell Sea separate from the main land mass of that continent. ... East Antarctica, also called Greater Antarctica, (80Â° S 80Â° E) is one of the two major regions of Antarctica, lying on the Indian Ocean side of the Transantarctic Mountains and comprising Coats Land, Queen Maud Land, Enderby Land, Mac. ... Location of the Prime Meridian Image:Prime Meridian. ... Eurocentrism is the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing emphasis on European (and, generally, Western) concerns, culture and values at the expense of those of other cultures. ...

Western Antarctica is covered by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. There has been some concern about this ice sheet, because there is a small chance that it will collapse. If it does, ocean levels would rise by a few metres in a very short period of time. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) blankets the continent of Antarctica west of the Transantarctic Mountains, covering the area called Lesser Antarctica. The WAIS is classified as a marine-based ice sheet, meaning that its bed lies well below sea level and its edges flow into floating ice shelves. ... An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 kmÂ² (19,305 mileÂ²).[1] The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the last ice age at Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) the Laurentide ice sheet covered much...

Volcanoes

There are four volcanoes on the mainland of Antarctica that are considered to be active on the basis of observed fumarolic activity or "recent" tephra deposits: Mount Melbourne (2,730 m) (74°21'S., 164°42'E.), a stratovolcano; Mount Berlin (3,500 m) (76°03'S., 135°52'W.), a stratovolcano; Mount Kauffman (2,365 m) (75°37'S., 132°25'W.), a stratovolcano; and Mount Hampton (3,325 m) (76°29'S., 125°48'W.), a volcanic caldera. Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ... Mount Melbourne is a massive volcanic cone of great beauty, surmounting the projection of the coast between Wood Bay and Terra Nova Bay, in Victoria Land of Antarctica. ... Topographic map of Mounts Moulton and Berlin (1:250,000 scale) Sources Siebert L, Simkin T (2002-). Volcanoes of the World: an Illustrated Catalog of Holocene Volcanoes and their Eruptions. ... Mount Hampton is an impressive mountain with a ciCan i have a tissue please because i am done with mi buisness and i am very wet with desire are you well not really bisnitch. ...

Several volcanoes on offshore islands have records of historic activity. Mount Erebus (3,795 m), a stratovolcano on Ross Island with 10 known eruptions and 1 suspected eruption. On the opposite side of the continent, Deception Island (62°57'S., 60°38'W.), a volcanic caldera with 10 known and 4 suspected eruptions, have been the most active. Buckle Island in the Balleny Islands (66°50'S., 163°12'E.), Penguin Island (62°06'S., 57°54'W.), Paulet Island (63°35'S., 55°47'W.), and Lindenberg Island (64°55'S., 59°40'W.) are also considered to be active. Mount Erebus in Antarctica is the southernmost active volcano on Earth. ... Map of Ross Island orthographic projection centred over Ross Island Ross Island is an island formed by three volcanoes in the Ross Sea by Antarctica, off the coast of Victoria Land in McMurdo Sound at . ... Deception Island is an island in the South Shetland Islands off the Antarctic Peninsula in Antarctica. ... Buckle Island is one of the three main islands in the uninhabited Balleny Islands group located in the Southern Ocean. ... The Balleny Islands (66Â°55â€² S 163Â°45â€² E) form a chain of uninhabited, mainly volcanic, islands in the Southern Ocean streching from 66Â°15 to 67Â°35S and 162Â°30 to 165Â°00E. The group contains three main islands: Young, Buckle and Sturge, which lie in a... Penguin Island or Georges Island or ÃŽle Pingouin or Isla PingÃ¼ino or Penguin Isle is an island 1 mile (1. ...

External links

Category: Geography of Antarctica

Results from FactBites:

Antarctica - Crystalinks (3799 words)
	Antarctica is home to more than 70 lakes that lie thousands of metres under the surface of the continental ice sheet.
	West Antarctica was partially in the northern hemisphere, and during this period large amounts of sandstones, limestones and shales were deposited.
	Glaciologists in Antarctica are concerned with the study of the history and dynamics of floating ice, seasonal snow, glaciers, and ice sheets.

NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Geography of Antarctica (2003 words)
	Physically Antarctica is divided in two by mountains close to the neck between the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea.
	Western Antarctica and Eastern Antarctica correspond roughly to the eastern and western hemispheres relative to the Greenwich meridian.
	Map of Antarctica, with Wilkes Land slightly to the right Wilkes Land is a large district of land in eastern Antarctica, formally claimed by Australia as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory, though this claim is not legally recognised by the signatories of the Antarctic Treaty, which includes Australia itself.

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