Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Coolest Place on Earth

This post is all on the coolest place on earth, the south pole.  


My favorite documentary on this is the amazing Top Gear episode where they reach it in a modified toyota hilux.










South Pole Cool Facts
  • Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and driest place on earth.
  • Antarctica has no native population or permanent residents, but there are a number of researchers and explorers who stay for extended periods.
  • The South Pole has a desert climate, almost never receiving any precipitation. Air humidity is near zero. However, high winds can cause the blowing of snowfall, and the accumulation of snow amounts to about 20 cm per year.
  • It almost never gets above 0° C in Antarctica and the highest recorded temperature at the South Pole is 7° F -13.8° C.
  • The world’s lowest temperature of -128 degrees F was recorded at the Russia Vostok Station in Antarctica.
  • The continental ice sheet of Antarctica contains about 7 million miles3 of ice, 90% of the world’s total.
  • Only 2% of Antarctica’s land is not covered in ice
  • The weight of all this ice is so enormous that the continent buried beneath it would rise to an average altitude of 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) if the ice sheet were removed
  • Due to its ice cap, Antarctica is the highest continent average approximately 2,300 m above sea level.
  • During the South Pole Winter (late March to late September) it is dark all the time
  • In the summer, it is light 24 hours a day, although the sun is very low in the sky
How to survive in the south pole
   Bear Grylls has nothing on this guy.


A Shackleton at the South Pole









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