1.  Antarctica http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im4H71li3HE

2.  Warm-Up: What do you know about Antarctica?

3. Geography

4. Climate  Coldest and windiest continent  Lowest recorded temperature - 89.2C or -128.6F (1983)  Wind speed of 320 km/h (200 mph)  Calm periods last a few hours  “katabatic winds” winds that flow downwards from the interior toward the coast driven largely by gravity

5. Climate  Three climate regions  1. Interior  extremely cold with little snowfall  2. Coastal Areas  milder temperatures and much higher precipitation rates  3. Antarctic Peninsula  warmer and wetter climate, above-freezing temps in summer

6. Antarctic Landscape  More than 98% covered with ice  70% world’s fresh water  Two main areas 1. East Antarctica 2. West Antarctica- extended of Andes Mountains  Transantarctic Mountains- mostly covered under ice  Rigid, glaciers and ice sheets  Classified as a desert- snow piles up, Sahara desert gets more rain

7. Plants and Animals  Mosses and algae  Whales  Seals- Leopard Seals  Penguin  Fish/Krill

9. Who lives there?  No native population or permanent residents  Whalers and sealers first people to set eyes on Antarctica  Research bases

10. Antarctic Treaty  1961 Antarctic Treaty  claiming territory from many nations, peaceful scientific investigation  Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Russia, United Kingdom, United States  First arms control agreement during Cold War  Headquarters in Argentina since 2004

11. Use page 137 in atlas to complete the map.