The journey of an American adventurer to Antarctica has sparked heightened interest in the remote and mysterious part of the world. Antarctica is reportedly nearly five million square miles in area. Curiously enough, this land is almost completely covered by the world?s largest ice mass. The thickness of this ice sheet isn?t really known. Some scientists suggest it may be 2000 feet thick, others say it is much thicker. All of the solid land, minus the most tall mountains and some of the coastal areas, have been covered in ice. Go to this site for further information on travel to antarctica.
Like a glacier, the ice moves amid mountain peaks to the ocean. Rising an impressive eight to ten thousand feet above sea level, the central plateau is a huge land feature. The South Pole is found on it.
Antarctica has been divided into four sections which have been named for areas to the north. The African,, Pacific and American quadrants are what they?ve been called. The African and Pacific sectors have coastal areas which have gone essentially unexplored. Just a tiny portion of the American sector’s coastal area has been investigated, though the sector, and its Ross Sea region, has been the subject of relatively thorough exploration.
Ross Sea serves as the eastern boundary of the quadrant, which spans west to Queen Mary Land to include South Victoria Land, King George V Land, Oates Land, Adelle Land and Wilkes Land. The western edge of the Ross Sea is a mountainous area, with the mountains emanating from an expansive sheet of shelf ice of approximately 160,000 square miles known as the Ross Barrier. You can get the best trips to antarctica information by visiting this website.
Near the Bay of Whales, which is a natural harbor the ice cliffs have formed, the explorer made base camp on the barrier itself. Mount Erebus and Mount Terror are the two volcanoes that can be found at the end of the barrier. The barrier extends for a length in excess of 400 miles, from the Ross Sea to King Edward VII Land. It is also about 400 miles wide.
This shelf ice formation is unique to Antarctica and the barrier is the most majestic shelf known. It resulted from glacier outgrowths that spilled out from the mountainous regions to overtake the covered part of the continent in the Ross Sea region. Traveling up for lengths of up to 100 miles, and through channels of between five and fifteen miles in width, ice still comes to the Ross Sea. Scientists argue about whether the barrier floats or rests on the sea floor.
Ross Sea is the Pacific region’s westernmost boundary, and unmistakable outgrowths of rocky terrain are found in King Edward VII land. Flying in his first lengthy flight from the Bay of Whales, the explorer was able to see the Scott Nunataks and the Alexandra Mountains. He discovered an island, placed fourteen peaks on the map of the territory and spotted the as yet unseen backcountry. His later flights gave geographers vastly important data that could allow them to map the Pacific quadrant’s coastline, as well as other valuable information about Antarctica.
There American quadrant houses the Coats Land, Charcot Land and Graham Land areas. One well-known spot is the Weddell seal area, which indents into the land. Graham Land was investigated further by another individual who learned that it was in fact a separate island, not a portion of the continent. Those involved in geography wonder if the continent should be divided. The Weddell Sea in the American quadrant is just about opposite the Ross Sea in the quadrant.
Scientific research and field study are two of the disciplines which are available on an unlimited basis in Antarctica. They still need to map the coastal regions for the entire continent and the polar plateaus and several mountain ranges.
Geologists would like to further study the ice-covered land. They also want to find out more about how the glaciers affect the land.
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