Antarctica | Learn Facts about Antarctica for Kids

[Music] antarctica for kids when you think of the coldest place on the earth you might think of the north pole but did you know that the south pole is actually much colder than the north pole the south pole is where antarctica is located it's so cold there that this continent is almost entirely covered by ice burr here are some interesting facts about antarctica antarctica is located at the bottom of the earth or in the southern hemisphere it is south of australia south america and africa and it is about 10 000 miles away from new york did you know that antarctica is the only continent where no human lives even though the population of humans living in antarctica may be zero there are some animals that live there most animals could not survive the cold conditions of the south pole but there are a few that can these include several types of penguin leopard or weddle seals killer whale or orca fish and krill krill are small crustaceans like shellfish or prawns the seals whales and penguins eat the krill and fish and the seals often become food for the whales only about 2 percent of antarctica is not covered in ice so there are very few plants that grow there trees and shrubs don't grow there either the cold climate is the reason there are few living organisms in antarctica however moss non-marine algae and many fungi and bacteria do grow there sometimes in the summer the color of snow in parts of antarctica turns red green gray or yellow this is caused by snow algae snow algae is an algae that can live in very cold temperatures did you know that antarctica is the largest desert in the world isn't it amazing that a place covered in snow and ice could be a desert antarctica is called a cold desert even though it's cold there it's still a desert because it gets very little rain each year so if it rarely rains or snows then why is there so much snow on the continent it's because the snow never melts and the little bit of snow that antarctica gets yearly just continues to pile up on top of the old snow so antarctica is almost completely covered by a layer of ice and snow that has accumulated over millions of years in some areas that sheet of ice and snow is between one to three miles thick did you know that antarctica contains about 90 percent of the ice on earth and if all that ice suddenly melted the sea levels throughout the world would rise by over 200 feet that's enough water to cover all the coastal cities but don't panic that's probably not going to happen and this is why antarctica is very very cold the coldest temperature ever recorded on earth happened in antarctica it was 128.6 degrees fahrenheit below zero and sometimes the winds in antarctica can reach up to 200 miles per hour making it even colder and in winter the colder temperatures freeze the southern ocean that surrounds antarctica which doubles the size of the massive continent though always cold there are still two seasons in antarctica winter and summer winter begins in march and lasts through the end of september in march the sun sets and is not seen again until the beginning of october that means it's dark for 24 hours a day for six months lots of countries have science stations on antarctica where researchers can study it but long before there were science stations in antarctica there were explorers who tried to reach the continent most failed in the 1700s an english explorer named james cook became the first person to cross the antarctic circle but he and his crew never reached land it wasn't until december 14 1911 that a man from norway named rauld amundsen became the first person to reach the south pole today tens of thousands of people visit antarctica yearly some are scientists while others are there for vacation how would you like to take a vacation to the coldest place on the earth make sure you pack a heavy duty snow suit now that you know all about antarctica do you think you'd like to visit if you do here are some sights you might see while there deception island is a popular tourist destination it is home to a polar volcano which has erupted several times it is the reason the water is warm and steamy surrounding the beaches in that area some tourists get lucky and even see a few whales while there emperor penguins freely roam the continent in antarctica the female penguin lays one egg a year and then the male takes care of it until it hatches the antarctic ice sheet is one of the two polar ice caps on earth it is a thick layer of ice and snow that covers 98 of the antarctic continent the south pole is the tip of antarctica temperatures here can reach 120 degrees below zero on the tip of the south pole you can walk around the world if you're dressed warm enough let's see if you're ready to take an expedition to antarctica by answering these four questions true or false antarctica is the coldest place on earth true what kind of animals live in antarctica several types of penguins leopard and weddle seals killer whales or orca fish and krill what turns the snow pink and other colors in summer in antarctica snow algae who discovered antarctica roald amundsen nice job antarctica expert perhaps the coolest thing about antarctica is that it belongs to everyone and not just one single country in fact in 1961 the antarctic treaty was signed and it says that very thing it states that scientists who carry out experiments in antarctica must share their results with the different countries that sign the treaty it also states that people who visit antarctica should care for the environment and only use the land for peaceful purposes what a cool continent hope you had fun learning with us visit us at learnbright.org for thousands of free resources and turnkey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers [Music] you

Channel: Learn Bright

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Keywords: Antarctica, where is Antarctica, cold desert, Antarctica facts, facts about Antarctica, how cold is Antarctica, what animals live in Antarctica, Antarctica for kids, all about Antarctica, Learn Bright

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Length: 8min 29sec (509 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 17 2022