- Which was yesterday, but fun facts are great everyday.
Did you read Do You Know These Antarctica Fun Facts? Here are more fun facts about the continent for it’s national day!
It Has The Most Fresh Water 
Even though it’s technically a desert, the continent contains about 70% of the fresh water on Earth. Because most of that water is within the enormous ice sheet, we don’t really have access to that water and won’t be drinking from it.
So Many Scientific Research Stations
Antarctica has more than 70 research stations. This is the base of which all the experiments are carried out of and they are operated by more than 25 countries from around the world. It may be a national day but it’s operated by people from all over the world.
Church in Antarctica
Even though no one really lives here, there are about eight churches scattered around various research stations in Antarctica. All of the churches are of the Christian denomination and about half of them are Catholic.
Lots Of Wind
Antarctica is the windiest of all the continents, with wind specs reaching up to almost 199 miles per hour. The winds whip across the flat landscape here, whereas in other continents, winds only reach these speeds during things like tornadoes, storms, hurricanes etc.
Underground Lakes
The Atlantic sheet covers more than 200 underground lakes. The water remains liquid due to the geothermal heat from the Earth’s interior and insulation above from all the ice. Lake Vostok is the largest of these discovered underwater lakes and is buried beneath about 13,124 feet of ice. Did you think you would be learning about underground lakes for Antarctica’s national day?
Ice-Free Parts
About 1-2% of Antarctica is permanently ice-free. How is this possible? Between the coldest of temperatures and even dried air, these areas are left barren and dusty and even snow won’t fall.
High Mountains
Mount Vinson is the highest mountain on the continent, at just under 16,362 feet. Or just over half the height of Mount Everest. The mountain range is named after Carl Vinson, a US Congressman who happily supported Antarctic ex[editions and was summited the first time but an American led team in 1966, with Nicholas Clinch as lead.
Huge Canyons
Several rift systems exist in both west and east Antarctica, spanning a huge area with deep canyons, almost as deep as the grand canyon. Because of this canyon, scientists believe that Antarctica is losing ice more rapidly. This is a not so fun fact about Antarctica’s national day.
No Polar Bears
There are no polar bears in the Antarctic, they are only found in the Arctic.
Meteorites Available
Antarctica is one of the best places on Earth to find meteorites, mostly because the dark meteorites stand out against the pristine white snow and ice of Antarctica. Also, because of the cold and dry atmosphere, they are somewhat preserved against usual weathering.
All The Penguins
Antarctica may not have much, but it does have a whole lot of penguins. Penguins are the national animal of the continent. Emperor penguins and Adélie penguins can only be found in Antarctica though Chinstraps, Macaronis, Gentoos, Rockhoppers, Magallanics, and Kings can also be found in other locations.
Would you go out of your way to visit this very destitute continent with its own national day? Let me know in the comments!