During O.A.T.’s Antarctica's White Wilderness adventure, dramatic Antarctic landscapes are ideal not only for exploring on foot, but also for Zodiac expeditions.
Question: Where in the world do time zones collapse, babies have a 100% survival rate, and some lakes refuse to freeze?
Answer: Antarctica
Antarctica is a land of extremes. While most people think of sand and heat when they hear "desert," Antarctica easily claims this title due to its minimal precipitation—receiving only about 6.5 inches annually. At 5.5 million square miles (one-and-a-half times larger than the United States and exceeds both Europe and Australia in total area), this frozen desert outranks both the Arctic and Sahara in size, while towering over other continents with an average elevation of 8,200 feet—more than three times higher than the average elevation in the United States.
Beyond being the largest desert and highest continent, Antarctica also holds the titles of coldest and windiest place on Earth. The lowest temperature ever recorded on the planet was at Antarctica's Vostok Station in July 1983, plunging to an almost unimaginable -128.6°F. Meanwhile, wind speeds have been clocked at a staggering 199 mph at the Dumont d'Urville station.
Yet, despite its forbidding climate, Antarctica has been the birthplace of at least 11 humans. The first, Emilio Marcos Palma, was born on January 7, 1978, at Argentina's Esperanza Base. Ten more births followed through the 1980s, all to Argentine or Chilean parents. Some observers suggest these births represented strategic efforts by both nations to strengthen their territorial claims in the region. With all 11 babies surviving, Antarctica technically maintains a perfect infant mortality rate of zero percent.
Time itself also seems to follow different rules in Antarctica. The continent has no official time zone, creating a unique temporal landscape where research stations either follow the time of their home countries or adopt the time zone of the nearest nation. This leads to a patchwork of different times across the continent, further complicated by some stations that observe daylight saving time changes.
Among Antarctica's most curious features is Deep Lake—a body of water so hypersaline (about ten times saltier than the ocean) that it remains liquid even in extreme cold. This unusual environment represents one of Earth's least productive ecosystems, though it does host extremophiles—organisms specifically adapted to thrive in conditions that would be lethal to most life forms.
Antarctica's discovery itself remains shrouded in uncertainty. While Captain James Cook first crossed the Antarctic Circle in 1773, the continent wasn't actually seen until 1820. Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen reported viewing "an ice shore of extreme height" on January 27 of that year, while Britain's Edward Bransfield described "high mountains covered with snow" just three days later. The debate about who deserves credit for the discovery continues to this day.
Facts About Antarctic Exploration:
- The "Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration" (1897-1922) was marked by incredible feats of human endurance, with explorers using primitive equipment and no modern communication tools.
- Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen's successful South Pole expedition in 1911 used sled dogs and careful planning, while his British rival Robert Falcon Scott, who arrived just five weeks later, perished with his entire team on the return journey.
- Captain James Cook crossed the Antarctic Circle in 1773 but never saw the continent, declaring: "I can be bold to say that no man will ever venture further than I have done."
- American sealer John Davis claimed to be the first person to actually set foot on Antarctica in February 1821, though this is disputed by historians.
- The Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1897-1899) aboard the Belgica became the first to endure the Antarctic winter when their ship became trapped in pack ice. The crew suffered from scurvy, madness, and the psychological effects of months of darkness, with the ship's doctor, American Frederick Cook, forcing the men to eat raw penguin meat to survive.
- Ernest Shackleton's failed 1914 Endurance expedition became one of history's greatest survival stories when, after his ship was crushed by ice, he journeyed 800 miles in a small lifeboat to find rescue for his stranded crew—all of whom survived.
Experience the "Frozen Desert" for yourself during O.A.T.’s Antarctica's White Wilderness adventure.
