Extreme points of Antarctica

• The tallest mountain in Antarctica is Mount Vinson rising 4,892 metres (16,050 feet) above sea level.
• The lowest point in Antarctica is within the Bentley Subglacial Trench, which reaches 2,555 metres below sea level. This is also the lowest place on earth not covered by ocean (although it is covered by ice).
• The lowest accessible point in Antarctica is the shore of Deep Lake, Vestfold Hills, which is 50 m beneath sea level.
• The point on land farthest from any coastline on the Antarctic Continent is located at 83°06′S 54°58′E / 83.100°S 54.967°E / -83.100; 54.967. This is also known as the South Pole of inaccessibility.^[1]
• Antarctica is the southernmost land mass on Earth. The Geographical South Pole lies on the Polar Plateau at 90°00′S 00°00′W / 90.000°S -0.000°E / -90.000; -0.000. It is here that the southernmost human habitation on Earth is located: Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station (U.S. Administered Base).
• Vostok Station is the most isolated research base on the continent (located at 77°S 105°E / 77°S 105°E / -77; 105), and it is situated over the southernmost lake in the world, Lake Vostok, a subglacial lake 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) under the surface of the ice where the station sits. Formerly administrated by the Soviets, it is now operated by Russia.
• The southernmost volcano on the planet—Mount Erebus—is in Antarctica on the world's southernmost island reachable from the sea: Ross Island.
• The southernmost island is Berkner Island. It is embedded in the ice shelf, fully covered by ice and fully below sea level.
• The Ross Sea is the southernmost sea in the world, with its southernmost extremity (Gould Coast) at the foot of the Horlick Mountains approximately 200 miles (320 km) from the Geographic South Pole. However, this area is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf. The southernmost open sea is also part of Ross Sea, namely Bay of Whales at 78°30'S, at the edge of Ross Ice Shelf.
• The northernmost extremity of the Antarctic mainland (without nearshore islands) is Prime Head, at the northern tip of the Trinity Peninsula at 63°12′48″S 57°18′08″W / 63.21333°S 57.30222°W / -63.21333; -57.30222. The Antarctic Peninsula is the largest contiguous part of the continent projecting north of the Antarctic Circle and thus has many of the continent's research bases. Prime Head is 609 mi (980 km) from Cape Horn. The northernmost research base on the mainland is Esperanza Base.

Other extremes

• 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: 14.6 °C (58.3 °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 on August 2010. The record temperature was found by scientists sifting through decades of climate data taken by Earth-orbiting satellites.^[2] 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 was 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 in the Australian Antarctic Territory. 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

• Extreme points of the Antarctic
• Farthest South

References