1. All About Antarctica

2.  Earth's southernmost continent.  The coldest, driest, and windiest continent.  Coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth −128.6 °F

3. Antarctic sea life includes:  penguins  blue whales  orcas  fur seals  colossal squids

4. Antarctica has no government & belongs to no country Antarctica has no permanent residents Its status is regulated by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty

5. Date Country Territory Claim limits 1908 United KingdomUnited Kingdom British Antarctic TerritoryBritish Antarctic Territory 20°W to 80°W 1923 New ZealandNew Zealand Ross Dependency 150°W to 160°E 1924 France Adélie Land 142°2'E to 136°11'E 1929 Norway Peter I Island 68°50′S 90°35′W68.833°S 90.583°W)68°50′S 90°35′W68.833°S 90.583°W) 1933 Australia Australian Antarctic TerritoryAustralian Antarctic Territory 160°E to 142°2'E and 136°11'E to 44°38'E 1939 Norway Queen Maud Land 44°38'E to 20°W 1940 Chile Antártica 53°W to 90°W 1943 Argentina Argentine AntarcticaArgentine Antarctica 25°W to 74°W —NoneUnclaimed territory (Marie Byrd Land)Marie Byrd Land 90°W to 150°W (except the Peter I Island)Peter I Island

6. Over 4,000 scientists operate research stations  28 nations operate research stations & conduct experiments  Antarctic Treaty prohibits any military activities

7.  If Antarctica's ice sheets melted, the worlds oceans would rise by 200 – 210 feet - everywhere.  Antarctica is the best place in the world to find meteorites.  Possibly the biggest iceberg ever, broke free from the Ross ice shelf in Antarctica in 2000. It was 183 miles long and 23 miles wide, similar in size to Connecticut.  The Antarctic ice cap has 90% of all the ice on earth and between 60 and 70 % of all of the world's fresh water. ANTARCTICA FACTS