Certainly one of the most enigmatic and mysterious places on the planet is Antarctica - a country of ice.Briefly describe this amazing continent will not work: no matter how poor we may seem endless frozen expanses of nature, there is a lot of interesting landscapes.And if before the continent was known only to researchers and polar explorers, today a lot of extreme tourists on their eyes trying to see huge icebergs and snowy desert.
General
With Greek Antarctica means "opposite of the Arctic."It is a huge continent, which occupies the southern part of the planet.Through its center a conditional pass the Earth's axis as it is here is the south pole.About 15 million square kilometers - an area that covers Antarctica.The country is not for nothing that the ice had a snowy name, because 1.5 million square kilometers of its total territory is covered by ice shelves.
Because of its isolated and distant locations, Antarctica was the last continent to which man has gone before.This happened only in the XIX century: the Russian expedition led by Mikhail Lazarev and Thaddeus Bellingshausen discovered the land.Because of the infinite and the eternal cold nights they could not settle people.The climatic conditions there really severe: temperatures can drop to -80 ° C, the icy wind blowing at a speed of 90 m / s.Today, the territory does not belong to any state.Representatives of different countries conduct research here.Antarctica - a country of ice - courtesy sheltered 3,000 scientists who work on 37 different stations.
Boundless ice
They are the main attraction of the continent.By the way, among the other fellow, he - the highest.Antarctica rises above sea level to 2000 km, in the center - by as much as 4000.Most of the heights - the ice surface that hides in its bosom a continental train.Only about 5% of the area free of ice - in the western part and the Transantarctic Mountains.
Since Antarctica - a country of ice, for children and adults in encyclopedias written a lot of information about its extent.Scientists argue that the frozen cover here is the giant in the world, the size of it is 10 times the snow achieve Greenland.It consists of 30 million square kilometers - is 90% of all land ice.A feature of the continent is considered to be a huge amount of ice shelves located here - a low "blue" areas that make up a tenth of the territory.Very beautiful icebergs, towering above sea level, sometimes reaching an enormous size.
Frozen tsunami
It is clear that for many people, Antarctica is associated exclusively with the cold ice.But do not think that snow formation are boring layers or clumps: they sometimes take the form of frozen giant waves that seem to have stopped in his tracks and crushing magically become exquisite sculptures.This so-called ice tsunami - now a place of pilgrimage for tourists, the unusual beauty of the landscape.What can I say - the highlight of the snow continent.Clumps of stunningly beautiful, because they consist of pure dazzling blue ice.
Antarctica, ice country, they graced his face for a hundred years.Its cold were chief assistant, and more active participation in the process of taking water and sun.A simple mechanism for creating a tsunami.Initially, the ice is white, since there is a lot of air bubbles, with the onset of summer sunlight, he melts in the winter, on the contrary, is frozen - and so without stopping.But the trick is, then again icy layers push air bubbles, so light travels into the depths of the ice floe.Thus, we face grow huge turquoise frozen tsunami that spring and summer playing with all the colors of the rainbow.
Nature
mysterious and unusual then the world: Antarctica - a country of ice - the most unexplored continent on the planet, so about her flora and fauna known not so much.The harsh climate has led to the fact that the greater part of these lands is no life.The surface of the continent - the snow-covered, ice covered the land on which the afternoon with fire you will not find vegetation.However, in some parts of the bare land successfully grow a variety of lichens, mosses and mushrooms.Also, there is angiosperm plants and algae.
the richest coast, especially in the southern part of Antarctica.So there are many breeds of birds, including the symbol of the continent - the penguins and cormorants, petrels, skuas.The sea ice feel well, and therefore actively live and reproduce sperm whales, blue whales and a variety of pinnipeds.Most of Antarctica is located above the Arctic Circle: here there are long polar days and nights.In the end they reach six months, so to see the sunrise and sunset here only once a year.
Erebus
Oddly enough, but among the permafrost and vast expanses of snow and is the most active volcano in the world.It was first seen in the middle of the XIX century expedition of Great Britain, she swam along the coast of the continent.One of the British ships called "Erebus" - hence the name of the volcano.The first man climbed to the top of the March 10, 1908.In our time, the height of the fire mountains - about 3794 meters above sea level, it constantly spews out a huge crater fiery clouds of steam.
Antarctica, ice country, can be proud of Erebus.It's one of the three volcanoes on the planet that hides in its depths inexhaustible lava lake.Apart from the giant Arctic inexhaustible reserves of liquid lava is only at Kilauea in Hawaii and Nyiragongo in Africa.In the last century there was 8 eruptions, the largest - in 1972.Interestingly, the surface is dotted with ice Erebus towers of strange and bizarre shapes - is icy steam geysers and lava that never-ending stream beat from the bowels of a fiery mountain.
Dry Valleys
Many interesting facts can be gathered, preparing a report on the mainland or the project.Antarctica - a country of ice, but who would have thought that this is where is the driest place on Earth.Nearly two million years there was no rain.The reason for all the strong wind that walking at a speed of 320 km / h: the moisture evaporates, they provided a complete lack of snow and rain in the local area.And despite the fact that it is in the Dry Valleys lies the Lake Vida and Onyx - the longest river in Antarctica.
Surprisingly, there are a lot of informative and beautiful places.For example, Don Juan - the salt lake in the world, the salt concentration in which as much as 40%, which is two times higher than the Dead Sea.Dry Valleys are very interested representatives of NASA, because the local climate is very similar to Mars.Every day Americans are doing research, which, incidentally, is quite successful.They allow you to discover the many bacteria that are a testament to the fact that life on the red planet still exists.
Blood Falls
It is in the Dry Valleys Australian scientist and geologist Griffith Taylor in 1911 found an amazing place: from a giant glacier flowed bright red streams.Initially we thought that the color of the water give the red algae, but this version was incorrect.Only decades later, scientists discovered the secret of Blood Falls: source contains a large amount of ferrous iron is oxidized by air, turning into rust.The very same metal - a product of the metabolism of various organisms that inhabit these waters.
Water on Blood Falls is enough: it comes from the lake, which is hidden in the depths of the glacier at a depth of 400 meters.Animals inhabiting it, quietly survive in the absence of oxygen, heat and light.Although many people are more interested in the question of where does all he could form a real waterfall, because Antarctica - a country of ice, respectively, the temperature there is always low.And the thing of the same salt.In continental waters it is really too much, so the springs do not freeze even at very biting frosts.
