What Do You Know About Antarctica? Quiz

Answer: Roughly 14 million sq. kilometres (5.4 million sq. miles)

Approximately 9% of the land surface of the world is taken up by Antarctica. It is 1.5 times the size of the USA.

Answer: Mount Vinson Massif

Vinson Massif lies in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It is located about 1,200 km (750 miles) from the South Pole. It is approximately It is 21 kilometres (13 miles) long and 13 kilometres (8 miles) wide and stands at 4,892 metres (16,070 ft) high.

Vinson Massif was first seen in 1958 and first climbed in 1966.

For comparison, Mount Everest is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) high. Vinson Massif is the sixth highest of the Seven Summits.

Answer: There are none

There has never been a native population in Antarctica. However, in the short summer there are about 4,000 people on scientific bases, about 1,000 in the winter and there are approximately 30,000 summer tourists.

Some tourists just fly over Antarctica whilst others come by ship that carry between 45 and 280 passengers. Occasionally a large cruise ship will conduct sight-seeing tours without landing. Antarctica is not your usual tourist destination as there are no tourist facilities such as hotels, airports or shops.
(Asmat and Korowai are lost tribes of New Guinea)

Answer: Caroline Mikkelsen

The first woman to set foot in Antarctica was Caroline Mikkelsen in 1935. She was the wife of a Norwegian whaling captain.

The first women to winter on Antarctica were Americans Edith Ronne and Jennie Darlington, wives of Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition members in 1945.

For centuries there was a traditional belief that another land lay south of the known world and attempts to find it were defeated by the ice. Englishman, Captain James Cook did not see the continent but was the first person to sail across the Antarctic Circle in his voyage from 1772-1775.

Answer: Roald Amundsen

Though many attempted it, the first person to reach the South Pole was Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen and his South Pole expedition. They arrived at the South Pole on 14 December 1911, beating Robert Falcon Scott and his party by thirty-five days.

Answer: Penguins and Seals

The only warm-blooded animals to live in Antarctica are various species of penguins and seals (and some sea birds). It has microscopic plankton and whales also visit. There are also several species of fish. Land life includes lichen, two types of flowering plants on ice-free areas.

There are no trees. It is estimated that there are about 32 million seals of different species in Antarctica. During the 1800s millions of fur seals were killed to near extinction by the 1870s. However the number of fur seals has gradually increased to more than one million. Also the number of whales was radically reduced due to the whaling industry, estimated from nearly two million at the beginning of the 20th Century to just over 700,000 by the mid 80s.

There is still an on-going problem with whaling in Antarctica.

Answer: Fifth

The continents, in order of size from the largest to smallest, are Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia. The continents occupy about 29% of Earth's surface.

Answer: -89c (-129f)

The coldest of the seven continents is Antarctica and the coldest temperature recorded in the 20th century was -89.2c (-129f) on 21 July 1983 at Vostok Station.

Answer: Argentina and Chile

There are many islands dotted around the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, but the nearest major land is the southern tip of South America - Argentina and Chile. It is approximately 1,992 km (1,238 miles) to Antarctica.

The distance from Hobart, Australia is 3,443 km (2,139 miles); from New Zealand about 3,943 km (2,450 miles) and from South Africa about 5,131 km (3,188 miles).

Answer: Polar ice pack

The Antarctic Ice Shelf is the largest mass of ice in the world and covers an area nearly five and a half million square kilometres (approx. 14 million square miles). At its thickest point the ice sheet is over four thousand metres (over 15,000 feet), almost 5 kilometres (3 miles) deep! The ice sheet contains about 90% of the world's ice and 70% of the world's fresh water.