The continent of Antarctica is home to a unique and harsh environment that has not changed much in the last 30 million years. It is about twice the size of Australia and is surrounded by ocean. Almost entirely covered by a sheet of ice which has an average thickness of approximately 6,500 feet. Antarctica stores about 70% of the world's freshwater as ice, but has only about 2 inches of precipitation a year in it's interior which is about the same as the Sahara desert. On July 21, 1983 a record low temperature of - 89C ( -128F ) was recorded. If the Antarctic ice sheet were to melt, the world's oceans would rise about 70 meters ( 240 feet ). Commonwealth bay is one of the windiest places on Earth. Winds are coming of the iceplateu with speeds up to 300 km an hour ( 180 MPH )

 

Antarctica

On December 14, 1911, Roald Amundsen and four Norwegian countrymen became the first to reach the South Pole. In a dramatic race for glory and fame, the British team led by Robert F. Scott arrived at the Pole about one month later to find a tent with the Norwegian flag and a letter from Amundsen. Defeated and out of food, Scott and his men perished on the return trip just a few miles short of a food depot. Their stoic courage was preserved in Scott's diary. Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, USN was the next to see the Pole when he flew over it in 1929.
The first airplane landed there in 1956, and since that year the United States has occupied the Amundsen-Scott research base where scientific experiments and observations are being performed. The South Pole elevation is 9300 feet above sea level. The ground under the South Pole is just above sea level

South Pole

 

Arriving at the South Pole Station