Rumors about the presence of a mysterious sixth continent have been stirring the minds of sailors for centuries. The famous Piri Reis map served as proof of the existence of Antarctica.
Antarctica is a huge continent encased in an ice shell. The center of the mainland practically coincides with the location of the South Pole. In addition to the mainland, Antarctica includes islands located in the waters of the ocean that washes the shores of the continent.
Mainland Antarctica
Today, a person versed in geography knows that Antarctica is not only the coldest, but also the highest continent. The average height above sea level is about 2000 meters, and in the central part - 4000 meters. The mainland is divided by the Transarctic Mountains into two parts, Western and Eastern. Almost the entire area of Antarctica was once covered with ice, except for small areas of mountains.
Now the ice of Antarctica is actively melting. In their place, mosses and lichens appear. Scientists do not exclude that in 100 years the first shrubs and trees will appear in Antarctica.
How Antarctica was found
Many sailors tried to get to the shores of the unknown continent. For example, even Amerigo Vespucci, exploring southern latitudes, reached the island of South Georgia. However, the extreme cold prevented the further advance of the expedition.
In January 1820 the boats "Mirny" and "Vostok" landed on the coast of the mainland. The discoverers of the continent were Mikhail Lazarev and Thaddeus Bellingshausen, who led the expedition, the results of which became proof of the existence of Antarctica. Science teacher Carsten Borchgrevink and Christensen, captain of the Antarctic, were the first people to set foot on the continent.
During the voyage, the Vostok and Mirny ships covered a distance of 100,000 kilometers. This is about 2.5 revolutions around the globe. The journey took 751 days. During the expedition, 29 new islands were discovered and mapped, and Antarctica was discovered. By the way, earlier, during a long voyage, sailors suffered from a lack of fresh water. The members of the Lazarev and Bellingshausen expedition quickly realized that water could be obtained by melting the ice of the icebergs encountered.
On January 28, 1820, sailors saw a wall of ice and flocks of birds hovering above them. This is how the discovery of Antarctica by Russian sailors happened. Currently, many countries claim the territory of the continent, since mineral deposits have been discovered in Antarctica, its ice contains 80% of all world fresh water reserves.
