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1994-05-02
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<text>
<title>
Antarctica: Geography
</title>
<article><hdr>The World Factbook 1993: Antarctica
Geography</hdr><body>
<p>Location: continent mostly south of the Antarctic Circle
</p>
<list>
<l>Area:</l>
<l> total area: 14 million km2 (est.)</l>
<l> land area: 14 million km2 (est.)</l>
<l> comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of
the US</l>
</list>
<p>note: second-smallest continent (after Australia)
</p>
<p>Land boundaries: none, but see entry on International
disputes
</p>
<p>Coastline: 17,968 km
</p>
<p>Maritime claims: none, but see entry on International
Disputes
</p>
<p>International disputes: Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see
Antarctic Treaty Summary below); sections (some overlapping)
claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France (Adelie Land),
New Zealand (Ross Dependency), Norway (Queen Maud Land), and UK;
the US and most other nations do not recognize the territorial
claims of other nations and have made no claims themselves (the
US and Russia reserve the right to do so); no formal claims have
been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees
west, where, because of floating ice, Antarctica is
unapproachable from the sea
</p>
<p>Climate: severe low temperatures vary with latitude,
elevation, and distance from the ocean; East Antarctica is
colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation;
Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate; higher
temperatures occur in January along the coast and average
slightly below freezing
</p>
<p>Terrain: about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren
rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters;
mountain ranges up to 4,897 meters high; ice-free coastal areas
include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the
Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo
Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the
coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area
of the continent
</p>
<p>Natural resources: none presently exploited; iron ore,
chromium, copper, gold, nickel, platinum and other minerals, and
coal and hydrocarbons have been found in small, uncommercial
quantities
</p>
<list>
<l>Land use:</l>
<l> arable land: 0%</l>
<l> permanent crops: 0%</l>
<l> meadows and pastures: 0%</l>
<l> forest and woodland: 0%</l>
<l> other: 100% (ice 98%, barren rock 2%)</l>
</list>
<p>Irrigated land: 0 km2
</p>
<p>Environment: mostly uninhabitable; katabatic (gravity-driven)
winds blow coastward from the high interior; frequent blizzards
form near the foot of the plateau; a circumpolar ocean current
flows clockwise along the coast as do cyclonic storms that form
over the ocean; during summer more solar radiation reaches the
surface at the South Pole than is received at the Equator in an
equivalent period; in October 1991 it was reported that the ozone
shield, which protects the Earth's surface from harmful
ultraviolet radiation, had dwindled to the lowest level ever
recorded over Antarctica; active volcanism on Deception Island
and isolated areas of West Antarctica; other seismic activity
rare and weak
</p>
<p>Note: the coldest, windiest, highest, and driest continent
</p></body></article></text>