Fact of the Day:

There is an ATM in Antarctica. In fact there are two machines (just in case one breaks down), making them the most southerly ATM’s in the world. They are located in McMurdo Station, a U.S. Antarctic research centre located on the southern tip of Ross Island and Antarctica’s largest community, capable of supporting up to 1,200 scientists and researchers. Although right now there are roughly…

The first person born in Antarctica was the Argentine Emilio Marcos Palma on 7 January 1978. He was born in Fortín Sargento Cabral at the Esperanza Base near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. His father, Captain Jorge Emilio Palma, was head of the Argentine army detachment at the base. While ten people have been born on Antarctica since, Palma’s birthplace remains the most…

Gateway to Antarctica. Above is a plaque found at the base of the Captain Scott statue in Christchurch, New Zealand. It reads: Christchurch is one of the main gateways to Antarctica. From the early 1900s, British expeditions used the Port of Lyttelton on their way to Antarctica. In 1955, Christchurch became the base for the United States Antarctic programme known as Operation D…

Time in Antarctica – Antarctica is the only continent without a time zone. Antarctica sits on every line of longitude, due to the South Pole being situated near the middle of the continent. Theoretically Antarctica would be located in all time zones, however areas south of the Antarctic Circle experience extreme day-night cycles near the times of the March and September equinoxes. This makes it…

Mount Erebus is the highest and most active volcano in Antarctica, it is located on the Ross Ice Shelf. One of the Volcanic Seven Summits, and the largest of 4 volcanoes that roughly forms the triangular Ross Island (Mt Erebus, and the extinct Mt. Bird to the north, Mt. Terra Nova and Mt. Terror to the east). Mount Erebus was discovered by explorer Caption James Clark Ross in 1841 and first…

Dear Education subscriber As you may be aware The Coldest Journey Expedition has unfortunately had to halt its aim of crossing Antarctica during winter. This has been down to a number of factors from vast stretches of complex crevasse fields, to burning more fuel than expected, to many other technical difficulties. Progress has been slow and the risk has become such where it would be far too…