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Incredible Facts

Select topics from the contents below to find out some fascinating and incredible facts about them!

Antarctica

Why is Antarctica so cold?

One reason is that the sun does not rise at all in regions south of the Antarctic Circle for part of the year. At the latitude of the Antarctic Circle there is one day a year of total light (21 December) and one of total darkness (21 June), whereas at the South Pole, there are 6 months of daylight and 6 months of darkness.

Did you know:

  • The world’s largest desert is on Antarctica
  • Antarctica has about 87% of the world’s ice
  • The coldest temperature ever recorded was at the South Pole; it reached minus 88° C
  • Antarctica gets less than 2 inches of snow each year