Antarctica's position. Geography of Antarctica. Geographical description of Antarctica. Geographical location of Antarctica

Antarctica is the only thing that caused virtually no doubt among numerous travelers who in ancient times set out in search of the sixth continent. The unexplored land was located, according to their ideas, to the south of Africa and Australia. There Antarctica was discovered in 1820. Geographical position the mainland is well known today. It is this that largely determines the severity of the climate and other conditions on the continent.

Antarctica: general information

In ancient times, Aristotle believed in the existence of a distant continent in the south. He supported his opinion with the theory that symmetry is necessary to balance its excess in the north. And, indeed, the ice continent is located in the southern polar region. The location opposite to the Arctic region is even reflected in its name. The prefix “anti” translated from ancient Greek means “against”.

The geographical location of Antarctica is limited to an area called Antarctica. It lies within 48-60º S. w. The area occupied by the mainland is estimated at 13,975 thousand square kilometers. This figure includes both ice shelves and islands attached to the continent. If the continental shelf is also taken into account when calculating the area, the figure increases to 16,355 thousand km 2.

Edge and center

The geographical position of Antarctica is characterized by the presence of a long peninsula that stretches to the side South America. The northernmost point of the continent is located here. This is Cape Sifre. It reaches 63º13" south latitude. On the opposite side of the peninsula is the territory ice continent doesn't extend that far into the ocean.

The coordinates of the center of Antarctica are approximately 84º S. w and 64º e. d. It was called the “pole of relative inaccessibility.” Opinions differ somewhat regarding its exact location. In science, the pole of inaccessibility is the point that is maximally distant from transport routes, in the case of the sixth continent - from the coast. However, certain factors, including the geographic location of Antarctica, have made its location difficult to determine. The coastline can be drawn at the “meeting point” of land and water or ice shelves and ocean. Because of this, the exact coordinates of the pole of inaccessibility have not been determined. It is often associated with the Soviet station of the same name, located at 82º06" S and 54º58" E. d.

In any case, the location of the center of the continent does not coincide with the location of the South Pole. If we choose the first of the indicated coordinates as correct, then the distance between them is approximately 660 km.

Highest continent

Although the 7th grade is studying the geographical position of Antarctica, few people remember how much the continent “rises” above sea level. The sixth continent is rightfully considered the highest. The reason is the impressive ice cover. The average height of Antarctica's surface above sea level is two thousand meters. In the center of the continent, the figure increases to 4000 m. The vast majority of this power is ice. Only 0.3% of Antarctica's relief is free from it. The surface height of the sixth continent is 2.8 times greater than that of any other continent.

Two parts

Ice-free zones include They divide the continent into two areas: West and East Antarctica. These areas are different in their structure and origin. The eastern part is where the fairly high plateaus of the continent are located, reaching four thousand meters above sea level. The western region is occupied by mountainous islands connected by ice. In the same area, on the coast Pacific Ocean, the Antarctic Andes are located, also exceeding 4 thousand meters above sea level. The most high point continent - Vinson Massif. It is located in West Antarctica and rises to 4892 m. The “lowest” point of the continent is also located in this part. This is the Bentley Trench filled with ice. Its depth reaches 2555 m below sea level.

Impressive cover

The physical and geographical position of Antarctica is the key to understanding all the features of the continent. It is the reason for such an impressive ice cover on the continent. A similar formation can be found in Greenland. However, the Antarctic ice blanket is ten times greater than this. The characteristics of this formation are amazing. Here lies 90% of all the ice that exists on the land of our planet. Its volume is approximately 33 million cubic kilometers!

The ice cover is a dome-like formation. The steepness of its surface increases towards the coast. The gradual accumulation of mass leads to the movement of ice towards its destruction (ablation, in scientific terms). For Antarctica, such a zone is the coast. Here the ice breaks off and icebergs form. Every year the total volume of destruction is approximately 2.5 thousand km 3 .

Peculiarity

As you can see, the geographical location of Antarctica and the glacial topography are inextricably linked. The placement of the continent caused the appearance of another feature of the continent. These are huge ice shelves. They, partly floating in the water, partly resting on the bottom, stretch from the shore into the sea. Ice shelves are the source of the largest icebergs in the world. Some specimens amaze even scientists who are quite accustomed to the wonders of Antarctica with their size. A good example is iceberg B-15, which broke off from the Ross Ice Shelf in 2000. Its area exceeded ten thousand square kilometers.

In winter (summer at this time), the area occupied by ice shelves is estimated at 18 million km². When summer comes, their area is reduced to 3-4 million km².

Ancient education

Researchers estimate that the continent's ice sheet formed approximately 14 million years ago. Not the least role in this was played by the erosion of the bridge that previously connected the sixth continent and South America. The “trace” from it is the Antarctic Peninsula. The same process apparently led to the formation of the Western Winds Current (Atlantic Circumpolar Current), which separates the waters surrounding the continent from the World Ocean.

Conditional boundary

The geographical position of Antarctica according to a local plan or map is determined, among other things, by its proximity to the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. In some manuals they directly border the continent. In others, Antarctica is washed by the waters of the Southern Ocean. Its conventional boundary can be called the current. The identification of the Southern Ocean is rather unofficial, although since the beginning of this century it has been increasingly found in the literature.

Temperature conditions in the waters washing the continent vary in the range from -2 ºС to +10 ºС. The Southern Ocean is a place of strong storms and winds. In winter it freezes down to 65º S. w. in the Pacific Ocean and up to 55º S. w. in the Atlantic region. However, some areas remain ice-free throughout the period due to strong winds.

Climate

The geographic location of Antarctica affects weather conditions on the continent. The planet's cold pole is located here. The most low temperature(-88.3 ºС) was recorded by Soviet researchers in August 1960 at the Vostok station. Average winter temperatures vary between -60 ºС and -70 ºС. In summer the range is slightly different: from -30 ºС to -50 ºС. In general, the temperature here almost never rises above -20 ºС. The exception is the coast and its most prominent point - the Antarctic Peninsula. Here in summer the air can warm up to 10-12 ºС. In the winter months, the temperature on the peninsula drops to an insignificant level by continental standards of -8 ºС. At the same time, the movement of cold air masses from the center of the continent “awakens” quite strong winds: sometimes their speed reaches 90 m/s.

Antarctica (the geographical location contributes to this) is not famous for high humidity levels. The average is 60-80%, on the coast it drops to 20%, and in some areas even to 5%. This fact is especially striking if you remember how much water is contained in the ice shell of the continent.

Once upon a time, Antarctica was covered with forests. According to researchers, there were rivers and lakes, mountains and hills, valleys and meadows on the continent. Today it is difficult to imagine such Antarctica. Its past is evidenced by some of the minerals discovered, in particular coal deposits. However, many of the resources hidden by the ice cover have yet to be explored. The harsh conditions of modern Antarctica, associated with its geographical location, do not allow us to quickly develop the vast territories of the continent. Perhaps this is why the international cooperation program began to unfold here. Researchers different countries together they try to comprehend the secrets of the sixth continent. And the degree of progress often depends on the ability to agree and coordinate actions.

Antarctica is the fifth largest continent by area, covering an area of ​​14.2 million square meters. km. It is amazing because the South Pole is located on its territory, it is washed by three oceans and several seas. So what are the features of the geographical location of Antarctica, and in which hemisphere is the “sixth continent” located?

Geographical location of Antarctica

Despite the fact that Antarctica is covered with ice and the climate here is harsh, it is the southernmost continent on Earth. The South Pole is located on its territory, and the continent itself is located exclusively in the southern hemisphere. That is, it lies south of both the equator and the northern and southern tropics.

The continent's area is 14.1 million square meters. km, but if its length is considered together with the adjacent islands and mainland shelf, then the size will increase to 16.3 million square meters. km.

Rice. 1. Antarctica.

Three oceans wash the continent: Indian, Pacific, Atlantic. Sometimes these waters are released into the so-called Southern Ocean. The Bellingshausen, Amudsen, Ross and Weddell seas flow into these oceans.

Due to the huge glaciers, which can reach a height of 4 km, Antarctica is considered the highest continent. The amount of ice space is simply amazing; 90% of all fresh water is concentrated here.

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Only Greenland can come close to the number of ice blocks in Antarctica. It is the second largest glacier by area. But the ice area of ​​the “sixth continent” is much larger than Greenland’s, it amounts to 24 million cubic meters. km.

Rice. 2. Glaciers of Antarctica.

In relation to other continents, Antarctica is a fairly remote land. It is separated from them by huge expanses of water. South America is closest to the mainland.

Features of the geographical location of Antarctica

The lowest temperature recorded in Antarctica. It dropped to 89.2 degrees. The average temperature on the mainland depends on the time of year. For winter, the usual temperature is -50 degrees, and in the most warm days In summer, the thermometer may even show a mark of -5-10 degrees.

Due to the harsh climatic conditions in Antarctica, there are no people living here on a permanent basis. Scientists and researchers live here temporarily, the duration of their stay does not exceed one and a half years. Maximum amount residents in the summer months - 4,000 people, in the winter - about 1,000 people. People live at research stations such as Bellingshausen, Vostok, Druzhnaya 4, belonging to Russia, Amundsen-Scott (USA) and others.

The mainland can be divided into 2 parts: the western part and the eastern part. There are mountains to the west, and flatter terrain to the east. The border between the eastern and western parts of Antarctica is the Transantarctic Mountains.

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Unlike other continents, which have 4 extreme points(north, south, west, south), Antarctica has only one extreme point - the north. This point is Cape Sifre (Cape Prime Head).

Rice. 3. Cape Sifre (Prime Head) on the map of Antarctica.

What have we learned?

Since F. Bellingshausen and M. Lazarev discovered Antarctica in 1820, attention to it has only grown. Antarctica is so unique that instead of 4 extreme points, it has only one. The continent lies almost entirely within the South Pole, and can be roughly divided into a western part and an eastern part. Antarctica does not belong to any country in the world; its lands are intended for research exclusively for peaceful purposes. In order to better understand this topic in geography (7th grade) and systematize your knowledge on it, you need to make a description according to plan. It should include questions about what area the continent has, how many extreme points it has, what seas and oceans wash the lands being studied.

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Lesson type: Learning new material.

Wall map of the hemispheres, Wall map of Antarctica, video, atlas for 7th grade, educational supplies, lesson presentation. (Presentation 1)

During the classes

Teacher's words:

The epigraph for our lesson will be a line from the poem by the famous English poet Alfred Tennyson “Fight and seek, find and not give up.” How do you understand it?

“And this unknown land of snow and ice lies beyond the southern polar circle, shining dazzlingly in the rays of the sun of the polar day or shrouded in clouds and whirlwinds of the blizzard in the darkness of the polar night. This region is beautiful in its own way, and anyone who has been there once will always remember the great silence of the icy desert.”

What continent do you think will be discussed in this lesson?

We wrote down the topic of the lesson in printed notebooks. (Annex 1)

The word Antarctica is translated as “anti” against, and “Arctic” is the northern polar region of the Earth. That is, against the Arctic.

• What do you already know about Antarctica?
• Why does Antarctica have such features?

Geographical location of Antarctica.

In printed notebooks, the first paragraph provides a plan for describing the geographical location of the continent.

After reading each point, one student comes to the board and answers on the wall map of the hemispheres and Antarctica, and everyone else follows the answer using atlases, and so we will work with each point of the plan.

Let's read it out first point– Determine how the continent is located relative to the equator? – look and answer.

Answer: located further south, meaning in the southern hemisphere.

Regarding the tropics?

Answer: Not intersected by the tropics.

Almost the entire territory of the mainland is within the southern polar circle.

The position of the continent relative to the prime meridian?

Answer: intersected by the prime meridian in the west.

Yes, indeed, most of the continent, more than 70% lies east of the zero hemisphere, that is, in the eastern hemisphere, and only less than 30% lies in the western hemisphere.

We can conclude that the continent is unique, as it lies in three hemispheres. Remember which ones?

Answer: in the south, east and west. Let's mark the southern polar circle and the prime meridian on the outline map in a printed notebook.

Reading second point.

Find the extreme points of the continent.

Due to its geographical location, Antarctica has only one extreme point. Open the atlas “ Physical card Antarctica” and find it (Cape Sifre). We independently determined the coordinates. Mark the cape on the outline map in your printable notebook.

Reading third point plan.

What oceans and seas wash the continent?

They identified them independently from atlases and signed them on contour maps in a printed notebook in blue.

Reading fourth point plan.

How is the continent located relative to other continents?

Answer: far from other continents, the southern part of South America and Australia are closest to it.

Yes, Antarctica is indeed separated from other continents by vast oceanic expanses.

The position of the continent near the pole led to the formation of a thick ice cover, the average thickness of which is about 2 thousand meters. Due to the thickness of the ice, Antarctica turned out to be the highest continent on Earth. Due to its geographical location, as well as its icy shell, Antarctica is the world's pole of cold, where the Earth's coldest temperature has been recorded. Open your textbook to page 39 and tell me what temperature it is and where it was recorded?

Answer: At Vostok station, - 89.2? C.

We have given a description of the geographical location of the continent, studied its main features, and now we will get acquainted with the history of the discovery of the continent.

History of the discovery of Antarctica.

Under point 2 in the printed workbooks “History of Discovery”, there is a table that we will fill out. There are four columns in the table, look at their names.

Teacher's words:

Antarctica was discovered much later than other continents. Although even ancient scientists expressed the idea of ​​​​the existence of a continent in the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere.

In the second half of the 18th century, an English expedition led by the navigator James Cook set off in search of the southern continent. He searched for Antarctica for more than three years, crossing the southern polar circle more than once, but he was never able to break through the ice to the mainland. Upon returning, Cook declared: “No southern continent No! And not a single person will ever dare to penetrate further south than I did...”

Therefore, after Cook’s voyage, for 50 years, not a single ship went to those waters where giant impassable ice guarded the distant approaches to south pole. Let's write it down in the table under the number 1.

The Russians put an end to a long break in the exploration of southern latitudes.

On the morning of July 5, 1819, the first Russian expedition set off for the southern polar waters on the ships Mirny and Vostok. They were led by sailors Thaddeus Faddeevich Bellingshausen, who was the head of the expedition, and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev, look at their portraits. They walked around the mainland and discovered many islands.

January 28, when the expedition reached the shores of the mainland, is considered the day of the discovery of Antarctica. We write it down in the table under number 2:

Do you know who was the first to reach the south pole?

Answer: Amudsen.

Let's look at the fragment. (Presentation slide 6)

How did you feel while watching?

On December 14, 1911, the South Pole was reached by Roald Amudsen, and a month later by Robert Scott.

This was the greatest geographical discovery. They received the first information about the interior of the continent. Let's write it down in the table under number 3:

And under the number 4:

Checking the table:

But these achievements came at a high price. Robert Scott's group died on the way back, just a few kilometers short of reaching the base where there were food and fuel. Eight months later, a tent was found, half covered with snow.

At the site of Scott's first wintering place, a cross made of Australian redwood was erected with the names of the five victims, and words were carved into the cross. What do you think? - a catchphrase, which was the epigraph to the lesson, from the novel “Two Captains” by Veniamin Kaverin.

“Fight and search, find and not give up.”

These people are remembered by expressing their feelings in poetry, “In Memory of Captain Scott”:

Square iceberg. Black water.
And white penguins in black tailcoats.
A gloomy bastion of sparkling ice.
And the plains leading to death.
And it’s not the masts of ships that seem strange,
Captivated by presumptuous hope -
Break through the grip of sparkling fields
To the ground, hidden by armored clothing,
I see a bony hand,
Frozen above the persistent and harsh,
The last, unborn word
The last entry of a stingy diary.
Land and people 1962

Throughout the journey, Scott kept a diary where he recorded all his thoughts and feelings. His last words were: “For God’s sake, don’t leave our loved ones.”

And after people died, did they forget about Antarctica? Or, remembering the difficulties, were you preparing for new expeditions?

Exploration of Antarctica.

Report from one of the students. Approximate content: In the 20th century, active exploration of Antarctica began.

During all this time, a large number of stations were opened. Open the atlas and look.

Find the Vostok station, this station was opened in 1957. You and I already know that the lowest temperature of the earth was recorded at this station. Remember which one?

Answer: - 89.2?С

At this temperature, iron also freezes. If you leave two axes on the street overnight, then in the morning, when you hit them against each other, they will break.

In 1957-1958, with the vision of the International Geophysical Year, 12 countries of the world decided to jointly study the continent.

In difficult times climatic conditions, several scientific stations were built in a short period of time. Look at the screen and find them - Mirny, Novolazarevskaya, Vostok, Molodezhnaya. They are located not only on the coast, but also in the interior, hard-to-reach parts of Antarctica.

The main and largest given time station - Molodezhnaya - find it on the atlas map. The Antarctic Aerometeorological Center is located here.

Antarctica does not belong to any state. There is no permanent population on the mainland - due to the harsh natural conditions. Any weapons tests or nuclear explosions are prohibited on its territory.

Antarctica is called the continent of science and peace.

Consolidation of the studied material.

• A crossword puzzle will help you consolidate what you have learned. (Appendix 2)
• Checking the crossword (Presentation, slide 10-17)

Homework.

• Find an explanation for the expression “Antarctica is the icy heart of the planet!”

Geography of Antarctica
Click to enlarge

Antarctica is the southernmost continent in the world. The continent is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. Antarctica is the fourth largest continent in the world, with a total area of ​​14.4 million sq. km.

The coastline of Antarctica is 17,968 km. The Transantarctic Mountains, located between the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea, divide Antarctica into two parts. The part located east of the Ross Sea and west of the Weddell Sea is called West Antarctica, the rest of the continent is called East Antarctica. 98% of the continent is covered with ice, which accounts for 90% of all ice in the world. Precipitation is very rare over almost the entire continent. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet runs along the western border of Antarctica.

Topographically, Antarctica is represented by big number mountains and peaks. Vinson Massif, located in mountain system Ellsworth is the highest mountain range in Antarctica.

There are many volcanoes in Antarctica, among them the southernmost active volcano on earth - Erebus. Eruptions often occur on the continent, mostly minor.

There are over 70 lakes in Antarctica, of which Lake Vostok is the largest subglacial lake.

Images of Antarctica. Geographical features of Antarctica

An image of the entire Antarctic. The image shows the entire Antarctic region, parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, as well as the island of Madagascar and southern Africa. Image by NASA.

Vinson Massif, the most high mountains Antarctica.

Lemaire Strait, between Booth Island and the Kyiv Peninsula.

Antarctica is a southern polar continent occupying the central part of the southern polar region of Antarctica. Almost all of the continent's landmass is located south of the Antarctic Circle. The coastline (more than 30 thousand km long) is slightly indented; almost along its entire length it consists of glacial cliffs, up to several tens of meters high.

The area of ​​Antarctica is twice the size of Australia and, including islands and ice shelves, is about 13.2 million km2. About 97% of its territory is covered with ice. This is the only continent located near the pole, within the Antarctic Circle. The area in the center of which is Antarctica, along with the adjacent areas of the Atlantic, Pacific and islands, is called Antarctica. The Antarctic border lies within 50-60o S. w.

According to scientists, in ice at a depth of more than 1000 m, conditions with elevated temperatures and colossal pressure are created, where ice melting is possible. This probably leads to the formation of subglacial ice, the accumulation of water in depressions of the relief. A consequence of its existence are also modern glacial lakes in the coastal zone of the mainland, which periodically instantly descend.

High pressure at the depth of the ice sheet, its movement, as well as processes associated with melting at depth indicate its mobility and unstable state. These factors, according to scientists, can create conditions for the formation of deposits on the Antarctic shelf. Antarctica is likely to contain large deposits of iron, copper, deposits of rare earth, radioactive and trace elements, as well as non-metallic minerals such as rock crystal, mica, phosphorus, etc.

According to geologists, the depths of Antarctica contain oil, gas, coal, lead, zinc, gold, silver, molybdenum, etc. According to scientists, oil and gas deposits on the deserted continent are one and a half times greater than the volume of deposits. According to the US Geological Survey, Antarctica's potential oil reserves are estimated at 6.5 billion tons, and more than 4 trillion cubic meters.

Almost all of Antarctica lies within the Antarctic Circle. Due to its inaccessible position, Antarctica was discovered by Russian navigators F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev later than other continents.