Extreme points of Antarctica

This is a list of extreme points in Antarctica.

List

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Other extremes

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  • While animal life such as penguins and seals are found all around the Antarctic coastline, the continent's only flowering plants are found on the northern portion of the Antarctic Peninsula (see Antarctic flora).
  • Highest temperature so far recorded in Antarctica: 19.8 °C (67.6 °F) at Vanda Station (New Zealand administered station) on 5 January 1974.
  • Lowest temperature so far recorded in Antarctica: −93.2 °C (−135.8 °F) in the interior of the Antarctica in August 2010. The record temperature was found by scientists sifting through decades of climate data taken by Earth-orbiting satellites.[4] However, the previous record was −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) at Vostok (Russian administered station) on 21 July 1983 and it is to this day more widely known.
  • The highest non-cyclonic winds ever recorded on the Continent were at Commonwealth Bay (66°54′S 142°40′E / 66.900°S 142.667°E / -66.900; 142.667), which is about 48 kilometres (30 mi) wide and located at the entrance between Point Alden and Cape Gray. Winds regularly exceed 200 km/h here. The fastest wind ever recorded was in the base Belgrano II at 351 km/h (218 mph).
  • Antarctica has the world's lowest rainfall average (zero at the Geographic South Pole) and thus is the world's driest continent.
  • Despite its low rainfall average, Antarctica has approximately 70% of the world's fresh water (as well as 90% of the world's ice).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Amos, Jonathan (2019-12-12). "Deepest point on land found in Antarctica". BBC News. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  2. ^ Antarctic Journal of the United States Volume 19 Number 5. National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs. 1984. p. 88. ISSN 0003-5335.
  3. ^ Rees, Gareth; Gerrish, Laura; Fox, Adrian; Barnes, Richard (2021). "Finding Antarctica's Pole of Inaccessibility". Polar Record. 57 (e40): 1–6. doi:10.1017/S0032247421000620. S2CID 239011407.
  4. ^ "Press Release: Landsat 8 helps unveil the coldest place on Earth". 9 December 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.