The Mystery of antarctica : land of pure silence

              There are 7 continents in the world as we all know. Some of them are gifted with precious natural beauty. Asia,africa,europe etc. are well known continents. From all of the seven continents, 6 continents sustain life. But in today's post, we are going to discuss the exception continent. The place which is full of mysteries, the land of pure silence, and a continent full of ice and snow. Can you travel there ? Can you guess it ? Then guess it by watching this image. 

Yes, it is beautiful 'Antarctica'. The 7th continent. Today, we will discuss everything you need to know. Also, is travelling possible in antarctica ? we will also find out. 

Background about antarctica

About 98% of antarctica is covered with snow. It is home to various penguin species. It is earth's southern most continent. It is the fifth largest continent with area of about twice of australia. Most of the continent is polar desert. This cold continent was found in year 1911 by Norwegian explorer roald amundsen. No human live here except some researchers and scientists at research centres by various nations. No country owns antarctica. 

What makes antarctica so special ? 

Antarctica has some of the best natural beauties. Stunning ice covered mountains, freezing winds, icy water and penguins. The coldness reaches at its extreme here. Everybody would not be able to go to antarctica. Field scientists are always interested to research in antarctica. 

Is it habitable ?

The simple answer is no. Because due to extreme cold, humans can not survive in the continent. Although some researchers are there in the continent. Initially there were no humans on antarctica. But as the technology grew, experts shifted there. There are no cities in antarctica and only some research centres. In spite of having an area od about 14.2 million sq. km, the estimated human population is only around 1,000 to 5,000 (seasonal). You have to be very careful surviving there. The extreme cold has resulted in deaths of humans. 

Some animal species surviving there are seals, penguins, whales, albatross,snow petrel etc. 

Is travel possible ? 

Due to the modern technology advancement, travelling is possible to antarctica. But it also requires plenty amount of money. No visa is required to travel there. There are 3 major centres from where you can reach to this extremely cold continent are ushuaia (argentina), new zealand and australia. The most popular way is through argentina. Now there are two ways, by flight or by cruise. Here, flights are not so preferred as uncertainty of weather can disturb. Cruise takes a little more time and it is preffered the most.The best time to visit antarctica is from late spring to early fall. You should never forgot about winter clothes !

Climate

Antarctica is the coldest continent of earth. The average temperature here is around -57 degree Celsius. The continent has about 90% of the world's total ice. No one can suffer such level cold. Sun-rays hardly reach here and even at a small area. It has a dry weather. The highest temperature ever recorded here was only 17 degrees. Here, the ice sheet is about 40 million years old ! Antarctica winds can move at speed of 320 kph.

So you might have been wishing to tour antarctica , right ? You must have good health status in order to visit the 7th continent. That is all for today's post. Hope you subscribe to our blog for such amazing posts ! And feel free to ask your doubts in the comments.