Antarctica (Greek ἀνταρκτικός - the opposite of the Arctic) is the sixth, last discovered, mainland in the very south of the Earth, the center of Antarctica approximately coincides with the geographic south pole. Antarctica, together with the Antarctica region that stretches around it, is a world natural reserve.
The other day marks 190 years since the discovery of Antarctica, so we have prepared this publication so that each of us can discover a little interesting and informative about Antarctica and Antarctica.
Satellite view of Antarctica
Treaty, Protocol and Claims
According to the Antarctic Treaty of December 1, 1959, both Antarctica as a whole and the Antarctic continent itself cannot belong to any state, are used only for peaceful purposes, researchers have access to any point in Antarctica and the right to access information obtained by researchers of other countries; The "Madrid Protocol of 1991" prohibits any industrial activity and mining in Antarctica. Compliance with the provisions of the treaty and protocol is monitored by a special Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty, which includes representatives of 45 states. 
International Antarctic Post
True, the existence of a treaty does not mean that even the states that acceded to it have renounced their territorial claims to the continent and the adjacent space. On the contrary, the territorial claims of some countries are formidable. For example, Norway claims territory ten times its own. Great territories "declared" their Great Britain. Australia considers almost half of Antarctica to be its own, into which, however, the "French" Adélie Land is wedged. Presented territorial claims and New Zealand. Great Britain, Chile and Argentina claim practically the same territory, including the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands.
Territorial claims to Antarctica
The United States and Russia took a special position, declaring that, in principle, they could put forward their territorial claims in Antarctica, but so far they have not done so. Moreover, both states do not recognize the claims of other countries, as well as the claims of each other. Moreover, several obscure virtual states have also "registered" on the territory of Antarctica.
Russian research station "Vostok", south geomagnetic pole
Discovery of Antarctica
The shores of Antarctica without eternal ice were the first to be seen by Russian navigators, members of the expedition of F.F. Bellingshausen on January 29, 1821. Bellingshausen's travel diary for January 17 says: "At 11 o'clock in the morning we saw the coast; its cape, extending to the north, ended in a high mountain, which was separated by an isthmus from other mountains ... I call this finding the coast because the remoteness of the other end to south has disappeared beyond our sight ... A sudden change in color on the surface of the sea gives the idea that the coast is extensive, or, at least, does not consist of the only part that was before our eyes. Bellingshausen gave this coast the name of the Russian emperor Alexander I. The land of Alexander I turned out to be part of the mainland Antarctica.Land of Alexander I. Drawing from life, made by a member of the Bellingshausen expedition, artist Pavel Nikolaevich Mikhailov in January 1821.
Antarctica is the highest continent of the Earth, the average height of the surface of the continent above sea level is more than 2000 m, and in the center it reaches 4000 meters. Most of this height is the permanent ice sheet of the continent, and only 0.3% of its area is ice-free.
Ice of Antarctica
The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest on our planet and exceeds the Greenland one in area by about 10 times. It contains ~30,000,000 km³ of ice, and the thickness of the ice layer reaches almost 5 kilometers in some areas of Antarctica. A feature of Antarctica is also a large area of ice shelves (~10% of the area rising above sea level); these glaciers are the source of icebergs of record size. For example, in 2000, the largest iceberg to date, which was given the name B-15, broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf, with an area of over 10 thousand km². In winter (we have summer in the Northern Hemisphere), the area of sea ice around Antarctica increases to 18 million km². 
Map of Antarctica
Weather in Antarctica
Antarctica has an extremely harsh cold climate. Colder - there is no place on Earth. In East Antarctica, at the Russian, then still Soviet Antarctic station Vostok - on July 21, 1983, the lowest air temperature on Earth in the entire history of meteorological measurements was recorded: 89.2 degrees below zero.In addition to the cold pole, in Antarctica there are points of the lowest relative air humidity, the strongest and most prolonged wind, and the most intense solar radiation.
Another feature of Antarctica is the winds that blow only near the surface. Due to the large amount of ice dust they carry, visibility is almost zero. The strength of the wind is proportional to the steepness of the slopes of the continent and in coastal areas with a high slope towards the sea reaches hurricane values. The maximum wind force is reached in the Antarctic winter. In addition, they blow almost continuously around the clock, and from November to March - throughout the night. Only in summer, during the daytime, due to the slight heating of the near-surface layer of air by the sun, the winds stop.
Winds of Antarctica from the air
Up to 90% of the Earth's fresh water is concentrated in the Antarctic ice. And despite the almost constant strong sub-zero temperatures, there are even lakes in Antarctica, and in the summer, rivers. The food of the rivers is glacial. Due to the intense solar radiation, due to the exceptional transparency of the air, the melting of glaciers occurs even at sub-zero temperatures. With the onset of severe frosts, the melting stops, and the deep channels of the melted streams with steep banks are covered with snow. Sometimes the channels of the streams are blocked even before the current freezes, and then the streams flow in ice tunnels, completely invisible from the surface, gradually forming lakes. They are almost always covered with a thick layer of ice. However, in summer, if the lake is not deep from the surface, along the banks and at the mouths of streams, their banks open.
Blue ice covering Lake Fryxell in the Transantarctic Mountains
In the 1990s, Russian scientists discovered the subglacial non-freezing Lake Vostok, the largest of the Antarctic lakes, having a length of 250 km and a width of 50 km, and in 2006, the second and third largest subglacial lakes were discovered, with an area of 2000 km² and 1600 km², respectively located at a depth of about 3 km from the surface of the continent.
In Antarctica there are peculiar glacial "swamps". They form in the summer in the lowlands. The melt water flowing into them forms a snow-water porridge, viscous, like ordinary swamps. The depth of such "bogs" is most often no more than one and a half meters. But from above they are covered with a thin ice crust, and like real swamps, they are sometimes impassable even for caterpillar vehicles: a tractor or all-terrain vehicle that has got into such a place, bogged down in a snow and water porridge, will not get out without outside help.
Dormant volcano Erebus - "Guardian of the gates of the South Pole"
Why is it necessary to study and develop Antarctica
. Antarctica is the last resource reserve of mankind, this is the last place where mankind will be able to extract minerals after its depletion on the five inhabited continents. Geologists have established that the bowels of Antarctica contain a significant amount of minerals - iron ores, coal, traces of ores of copper, nickel, lead, zinc, molybdenum were found, rock crystal, mica, and graphite were found.. Observations of climatic and meteorological processes on the continent, which, like the Gulf Stream in the Northern Hemisphere, is a climate-forming factor for the entire Earth.
. Antarctica is up to 90% of the world's fresh water reserves.
. In Antarctica, the effects of outer space and the processes occurring in the earth's crust are being studied, which already today brings serious scientific results, informing us about what the Earth was like a hundred, thousand, hundreds of thousands of years ago. In the ice sheet of Antarctica, data on the climate and composition of the atmosphere over the past hundred thousand years were “written on ice”. The chemical composition of the various layers of ice determines the level of solar activity over the past few centuries.
. The Antarctic bases, especially the Russian ones, located around the entire perimeter of the continent, provide ideal opportunities for tracking seismological activity throughout the planet.
. The Antarctic bases are testing technologies that are planned to be used for the exploration, development and colonization of the Moon and Mars
Wake up anyone in the middle of the night with the question: “Who discovered America first?”, And without hesitation, they will immediately give you the correct answer, calling the name of Christopher Columbus. This is for everyone known fact, which, it would seem, no one disputes. But was Columbus the first European to set foot on a new land? Not at all. Question one: "So who?". But Columbus was called for a reason discoverer.
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How did Columbus discover
In what century did such significant changes for the world take place? The official date for the discovery of a new continent called the Americas is 1499, 15th century. At that time, speculation began to appear among the inhabitants of Europe that the earth was round. They began to think about the possibility of navigation on the Atlantic Ocean and the opening of the western route straight to the shores of Asia.
The story of how Columbus discovered America is very funny. It so happened that he randomly stumbled upon the New World, holding the way to distant India.
Christopher was an avid sailor, from a young age who managed to visit all known at that time. Carefully studying a huge number of geographical maps, Columbus planned to sail to India through the Atlantic without passing through Africa.
He, like many scientists of that time, naively believed that, having gone straight from Western Europe to the East, he would reach the shores of such Asian countries as China and India. No one could even imagine what was in his way all of a sudden. new lands will appear.
It is the day when Columbus reached the shores of the new mainland and is considered beginning of American history.
Continents discovered by Columbus
Christopher is considered the one who discovered North America. But in parallel with it, after the news of the New World spread to all countries, in the struggle for the development of the northern territories the British entered.
In total, the navigator made four expeditions. The continents that Columbus discovered: the island of Haiti or, as the traveler himself called it, Lesser Spain, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Antigua and many other territories of North America. From 1498 to 1504, during his last expeditions, the navigator already mastered lands of south america, where he reached the shores of not only Venezuela, but also Brazil. A little later, the expedition reached Central America, where the coastlines of Nicaragua and Honduras were developed, all the way to Panama.
Who else mastered America
Formally, many navigators opened America to the world in different ways. History counts many names associated with the development of the lands of the New World. The Columbus case continued:
- Alexander Mackenzie;
- William Buffin;
- Henry Hudson;
- John Davis.
Thanks to these navigators, the entire continent was explored and mastered, including Pacific coast.
Also, another discoverer of America is considered a no less famous person - Amerigo Vespucci. The Portuguese navigator went on expeditions and explored the coast of Brazil.
It was he who first suggested that Christopher Columbus sailed far not to China and India, but to previously unknown. His conjectures were confirmed by Fernand Magellan, after making the first trip around the world.
It is believed that the mainland was named precisely in honor of Vespucci, contrary to all the logic of what is happening. And today the New World is known to everyone under the name of America, and not in any other way. So who really discovered America?
Pre-Columbian expeditions to the Americas
In the legends and beliefs of the Scandinavian peoples, one can often stumble upon the mention of distant lands called Vinland located near Greenland. Historians believe that it was the Vikings who discovered America and became the first Europeans to set foot on the lands of the New World, and in their legends, Vinland is nothing more than Newfoundland.
Everyone knows how Columbus discovered America, but in fact Christopher was far away not the first navigator who visited this continent. Leif Erickson, who named one of the parts of the new continent as Vinland, cannot be called the discoverer either.
Who is considered first? Historians dare to believe that he was a merchant from distant Scandinavia - Bjarni Herjulfsson, which is mentioned in the Greenlanders' Saga. According to this literary work, in 985. he moved towards Greenland to meet his father, but lost his way due to a strong storm.
Before the discovery of America, the merchant had to sail at random, since he had not seen the lands of Greenland before and did not know a specific course. He soon reached the level shores of an unknown island covered with forests. Such a description did not fit Greenland at all, which surprised him greatly. Bjarni decided not to land and turn back.
Soon he sailed to Greenland, where he told this story to Leif Erickson, the son of the discoverer of Greenland. Exactly he became the first of the vikings who tried their luck to enter to the lands of America before Columbus, which he called Vinland.
Forced search for new lands
Important! Greenland is not the most pleasant country to live in. It is poor in resources, with a harsh climate. The possibility of resettlement at that time seemed like a pipe dream for the Vikings.
Stories about fertile lands covered with dense forests only spurred them on. Erickson gathered a small team for himself and set off on a journey in search of new territories. Leif became the one who discovered North America.
The first uncharted places they stumbled upon were rocky and mountainous. In their description today, historians see nothing more than baffin land. The subsequent coasts turned out to be low-lying, with green forests and long sandy beaches. This historians were very reminded of the description coast of the Labrador Peninsula in Canada.
On the new lands, wood was mined, which is so hard to find in Greenland. Subsequently, the Vikings founded the first two settlements in the New World, and all these territories were called Vinland.
The scientist who was nicknamed the "second Columbus"
The famous German geographer, naturalist and traveler - all this is one great man, whose name is Alexander Humboldt.
This great scientist opened America to others on the scientific side, having spent many years on research, and he was not alone. About what kind of partner he needed, Humbaldt did not hesitate for a long time and immediately made his choice in favor of Bonpland.
Humboldt and French botanist in 1799. went to scientific expedition to South America and Mexico, which lasted for five years. This journey brought scientists worldwide fame, and Humboldt himself was called the "second Columbus".
It is believed that in 1796 The scientist set himself the following tasks:
- explore little-studied areas of the globe;
- systematize all the information received;
- taking into account the results of research by other scientists, a comprehensive description of the structure of the universe.
All tasks, of course, were successfully completed. After the discovery of America as a continent, no one dared to conduct such research. Therefore, he decides to go to the least explored area - the West Indies, which allows him to achieve tremendous results. Humboldt created the first geographical maps discovered America almost simultaneously, but in world history the name of Christopher Columbus will always be the first in the list of those who mastered the territories of the New World.
In what sequence the continents were discovered by Europeans, you will learn from this article.
In what centuries were the continents discovered?
The discovery of the continents was consistent and logical. It is known that there are 6 continents on our planet. The largest of them is Eurasia. The second continent in terms of territorial size is Africa. Its shores are washed by two oceans - the Atlantic and Indian. Two subsequent continents, South and North America, are connected by a small isthmus of Panama. The fifth continent is Antarctica, which is covered with a thick shell of ice. This is the only mainland of all 6 continents where there are no permanent residents. A large number of polar stations have been created on it, scientists regularly visit them and conduct observations. Australia is the last and smallest continent on the planet.
How did the continents get their names?
The continents were called by the Europeans who discovered them. There is no exact date for the discovery of Eurasia and Africa. It is only known that even the ancient Greeks knew and distinguished Eurasia into Asia and Europe. Europe is the part of the territory that was located to the west of Greece, and Asia was on the east side. Africa became known to the world after the Romans conquered the southern part of the Mediterranean coast.
At the end of the 15th century - the beginning of the 16th century, namely in 1492 he made a long sea expedition and discovered America.
In the 17th century Dutch navigators discovered the fifth continent, which they called "Terra Australis Incognita". It stands for the Unknown Southern Land. The fifth continent was Australia.
Last unknown continent
Early in the morning of July 17, 1819, a Russian naval expedition set out from Kronstadt on two sloops - Vostok (Captain Thaddeus Bellingshausen) and Mirny (Captain Mikhail Lazarev), there were 190 people on board the ships. The leaders of the expedition are experienced sailors: Bellingshausen took part in the first Russian circumnavigation under the command of Ivan Krusenstern; Lazarev made a three-year voyage from Kronstadt to the shores of Alaska and back. This time, they were given a particularly serious task: to penetrate the ice of the Southern Ocean as close as possible to the South Pole, discovering unknown lands along the way, “without leaving this enterprise except with insurmountable obstacles,” the instruction to the expedition leader Bellingshausen said.
Mikhail Lazarev
Only half a century has passed since the thousand-day voyage of the famous James Cook, who was stopped by the ice of the southern ocean and declared on his return from the second circumnavigation in his book "Journey to the South Pole and around the world":
"I can safely say that no man will ever dare to penetrate further south than I did."
Thaddeus Bellingshausen
The Russian expedition set off with the intention of going south along the paths that the English navigator had passed. The way to the goal was far. Copenhagen, London, Portsmouth, Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro... Only at the end of November "Vostok" and "Mirny" headed for the South Pole. A description was made of the western coast of South Georgia Island, a volcanic island in the group of the South Sandwich Islands was discovered. Snow, ice, fog accompanied the ships. Just as foggy and inhospitable was the day of January 27, 1820, when a point was reached with coordinates 69 ° 21' 28 "South latitude and 2 ° 14' 50" West longitude. Bellingshausen wrote in his ship's log: "A solid ice field dotted with mounds." Lazarev: "... met hardened ice of extreme height." A study of the navigation charts of the expedition showed that on that day they were near the coast of the Antarctic continent, which was named after 109 years by Norwegian researchers as the Princess Martha Coast.
Thus, a huge continent covered with ice was discovered. But the prudent and precise Bellingshausen wanted to make sure of this by going up to the ground itself. Three attempts were made to approach the mainland, but blocks of ice did not let the ships. More than a hundred days passed in continuous navigation, they went around almost the entire mainland - up to the twentieth meridian. Bellingshausen gave the order to go north, to Australia - to rest. The ships spent a whole month in the port of Sydney, healing the wounds caused by the ice, and then again set off south.
Storms, fogs, icebergs - nothing could stop the brave sailors. They crossed the Antarctic Circle for the sixth time and in January 1821 discovered the island of Peter I, and soon the mountainous coast of the south polar continent, calling it the Coast of Alexander I. From here, the sloops turn to the South Shetland Islands, and Russian sailors are the first to explore them.
The impending Antarctic winter forces Bellingshausen to leave the polar waters and begin his return trip to his homeland. On July 24, 1821, after 750 days of sailing, Vostok and Mirny arrived in Kronstadt.
Swimming of Lazarev and Bellingshausen
The results of the expedition were brilliant - 28 islands were discovered in the southern polar seas and the coast of the last mainland that remained unknown to mankind ...
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