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Aerial View of Vostok Station in Antarctica - The Coldest Place on Earth
The lowest recorded temperature on earth was -129 Fahrenheit recorded in 1983 at the Russian Base Vostok in Antarctica. Antarctica, a continent owned by no one and inhabited primarily by scientists, covers the southern end of our globe. In addition to being the coldest place on earth, Anarctica is also the wettest and the driest place on earth. How is this possible?
The Wettest Place on Earth
Over ninety-eight percent of Anarctica is covered by ice. Antactica contains seventy percent of the earth's fresh water and ninety percent of the earth's ice.
The Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest sheet of ice on earth, with an average depth of 7,200 feet. According to NASA's Cold Facts, "The thickest ice found is in Wilkes Land, where it reaches a depth of 15,669 feet: about as deep as the highest of the Alps is high." If this ice cap were to melt the sea level would rise an average of 230 feet and would inundate most coastal cities, including New York, London, and Hong Kong. Some people believe that the Wilkes Land Crater may have been caused by the impact of a huge meteor, which may have played a role in the extinction of the dinosaur.
The Driest Place on Earth
Antarctica is technically a desert. It receives less than two inches of precipitation a year, about the same amount of precipitation as the Sahara Desert. One interior region of the Antarctic is known as The Dry Valleys. These valleys have not seen rainfall in over two million years. With the exception of one valley, whose lakes are briefly filled with water by inland flowing rivers during the summer, The Dry Valleys contain no moisture (water, ice, or snow). The reason why The Dry Valleys exist are the 100 mph Katabatic down winds which evaporate all moisture. The freezing temperatures and the absence of water, plant life, and animal life simulate, to a degree, conditions on the Planet Mars. Consequently, The Dry Valleys are used as training grounds for astronauts who may one day make a voyage to our neighboring planet.
Home to One of the Largest Subglacial Lakes on Earth
In 1993 space-based radar revealed that one of the largest sub-glacial lakes on earth is located beneath Vostok. Lake Vostok lies some 13,000 feet below the surface of the central Antarctic ice sheet and covers over five thousand square miles.
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