Most of Antarctica is
about 2,800 meters above sea level. In some spots
of Antarctica the ice is piled more then 4,000
meters high, but in most places the ice is 2,000
meters deep.
Antarctica is 5,100,000 miles
in size, larger than the U.S.A and Mexico combined!
The huge continent is surrounded by water and in
the winter it triples its size because the sea
turns to ice.
The transantarctic cross the
entire continent of Antarctica. Some of its peaks
rise more than 14,000 feet. The transartarctic
chains ice free rocky areas are known as dry
valleys. The valleys were carved by glaciers that
once went through them. Dry snow that falls on the
valleys are swept away by the wind and some valleys
have lakes in them.
The South Pole is 90º
south of the equator. Its longitude is 90º
degrees south of the equator and its latitude
0º on the Prime Meridian. But every year the
ice slips from the south pole. So, every year they
have to move the pole that marks the South
Pole.
The minerals that are found
in Antarctica are copper, nickel, iron, gold,
silver, titanium, oil, lead, and coal.
