ANTARCTICA

Yesterday's post riled up the waters, bringing to the surface the coldest, windiest and most remote continent on Earth....Antarctica.  It's a place that I've not heard many people talk about. 

• There are no polar bears in Antarctica.  Polar bears are only found in the Arctic.
• Antarctica is one of the best places in the world to see penguins.  The penguin is Antarctica's national animal.  Of the 17 species of penguins on the planet, 8 of them live there.
• The Antarctic waters are home to 6 different species of seal.
• It is the only continent without reptiles.    
• 25 countries operate more than 70 year-round scientific research stations on the continent and the surrounding islands.  As many as 10,000 scientists and support staff work there, but only about 1,000 in winter.  It is a continent for science.
• In global terms, 90% of the world's ice is located in the Antarctic.
• It is the 5th largest of the 7 continents, bigger than all of Europe and nearly twice the size of Australia.
• 
  Part of the remote Taylor Glacier in East Antarctica has a blood-red waterfall.  Scientists discovered that the water originates from a sub-glacial lake that is high in salt and oxidized iron.  When the water comes into contact with air, the iron rusts giving it an amazing crimson color.
• Lowest recorded temperature of minus 135.76 degrees at Vostok station in 2010.  
• 
  The Southern Pole of Inaccessibility is considered the most remote point in the entire world. (photo right)
• The real wonder of this frigid world is McMurdo Dry Valley, one of the most extreme deserts in the world.  These valleys have intrigued researchers as the landscape on Earth that's as close to Mars as we can currently get.

.........These few facts are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this intriguing continent.  I have actually seen a photograph taken on Antarctica of two penguins.  My former doctor took the photograph on one of his mammoth adventures.  It's that business of seeing the world through someone else's eyes.  

Gonna bake a cake today and put together a chicken bake for tomorrow night's supper guests.  Otherwise, will be a low-key day.  Just the way I like it.