Lists of places in Antarctica explained

Antarctica is the southernmost continent on Earth. While Antarctica has never had a permanent human population, it has been explored by various groups, and many locations on and around the continent have been described. This page lists notable places in and immediately surrounding the Antarctic continent, including geographic features, bodies of water, and human settlements.

Bodies of water

Antarctica is a desert, receiving very little annual precipitation.[1] However meltwater from the continent's ice features produce a number of rivers and streams. A list of these can be found at List of rivers of Antarctica

Ice

Nearly all of Antarctica's surface is covered by ice to an average depth of 1.9km (01.2miles).[2] As such, a number of notable ice features have been described on the continent.

Ice shelves

In many places, continental ice sheets extend from the continent forming massive ice shelves.

A list of Antarctic ice shelves can be found at List of Antarctic ice shelves.

Ice streams

See main article: List of Antarctic ice streams.

Islands

A large number of islands surround Antarctica. For a list of them, see List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands.

Geographic features

Ridges and rock features

Mountains and hills

There are a number of mountain lists for Antarctica:

To be added to lists are:

Volcanoes

Antarctica has a number of active and extinct volcanoes. For a list of them, see List of volcanoes in Antarctica.

Human settlements

Antarctica has no permanent human population, however there are a variety of man-made places in Antarctica including two civilian bases.

Lighthouses

See main article: List of lighthouses in Antarctica.

Research stations

See main article: Research stations in Antarctica.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Joyce . C. Alan . 18 January 2007 . The World at a Glance: Surprising Facts . The World Almanac . 7 February 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090304001123/http://www.worldalmanac.com/blog/2007/01/the_world_at_a_glance_surprisi.html . 4 March 2009 . live.
  2. British Antarctic Survey . Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets for Antarctica . The Cryosphere journal . 390 . PDF . 6 January 2014.