The Arctic and The Antarctic, Wildlife Paintings
The Arctic
Arctic explorer - Wildlfie Painting by Alan M Hunt - Original For Sale
The Arctic is located at the top of the planet and home to the north pole. Although the Arctic and Antarctica seem similar at first glance, these Arctic facts show differences. Whereas Antarctica is a barren land, the Arctic has life.
The Arctic is all of the area on Earth located about latitude 66 degrees, 33 North.
The Arctic is primarily a thick flow of ice over an ocean.
The land from the north pole down to the northern forests are known as the tundra.
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the five oceanic divisions in the world, to be found in the Northern Hemisphere and mainly in the Arctic North Polar Region. Throughout the year, the ocean is largely covered with a sheet of sea ice due to very low temperatures. The Arctic Ocean is nearly completely surrounded by Eurasia and North America. Like Antarctica, the Arctic Ocean lacks the fabled history and beauty. It's actually a place for the most brutal and exposing adventure on earth. To know some more interesting, fun facts about the Arctic Ocean, read on.
Interesting and Fun Facts About Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the five oceans of the world. It's roughly 8% the size of the Pacific Ocean.
With total area of 14.056 million sq km, the Arctic Ocean includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies.
The Arctic Ocean has a coastline of 45,389 km and has depth of 4,665 m (from basin).
The Ocean boasts several important ports and harbors like Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia) and Prudhoe Bay (US).
The economic activity from the ocean is limited to the utilization of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals.
The Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways of the Arctic Ocean.
The Arctic Ocean's cold sheet of floating ice is quarters to seals, polar bears and arctic fox.
The floating ice is around 16 million sq. km, which shrinks to 9 million sq. km. in summers. When the ice shrinks, open water leads expose the black water.
The Arctic Ocean's ice sheet is four times as large as the state of Texas.
More fish live along the edges of the Arctic Ocean than anywhere else on the Earth.
Its average winter temperature is minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit. However, during summers, the temperature can rise up to plus 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Arctic is the only place on the Earth where polar bears live. It receives roughly 8 inches of rain every year.
Polar Reflection WIldlife Painting By Alan M Hunt Original for Sale
The Antarctica
Situated in the southern hemisphere, Antarctica is the southernmost continent on our planet Earth. Out of the seven continents, Antarctica is the fifth largest in area. Owing to extreme weather conditions in the region, there is no human population there. The living organisms here include cold-adapted plants and animals. The name ‘Antarctica’ is a Romanized version of Greek compound word, ‘Antarktike’, which means ‘opposite of the Arctic’. The continent is not governed by any specific country, rather by the Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959 by twelve countries. Today, the treaty has been signed by forty five countries. The main aim of the treaty is to prohibit military activities and mineral mining, while supporting scientific research and protecting the continent's ecozone.
Alaskan Halan Arctic Fox Original Painting
Interesting Facts about Antarctica
Antarctica is the coldest continent on earth, as the lowest temperature recorded here was -89o C. On an average, it is 17 degrees colder than Arctic in the north.
It is the driest continent on earth, as it hardly receives 2 inches of rainfall annually. The ‘Dry valley’ region on the continent is supposed to be bereft of rainfall since 2 million years.
The continent of Antarctica is buried under 1 mile of ice sheet and snow. If the ice melts, the continent would spring back 500 m, in around 1000 years.
If Antarctica's ice sheets melt, the level of the world’s oceans would rise by 60 to 65 meters (200 - 210 ft).
Antarctica is the ideal place to find meteorites, as they are easily visible on the white sheets of ice. They do not get covered by vegetation and even get trapped into the ice.
Antarctica is one and a half times the size of United States.
At the deepest point, the ice in Antarctica is around 3 - 4 km thick.
The largest animal living on the continent is midge, which measure less than a half inch long.
Antarctica is the windiest continent on earth. It experiences frequent wind storms, which at times speed over 300 knots at the sea coast.
The water of the Antarctica is so cold that nothing can rot here.
Owing to the chilly water in Antarctica, codfish have antifreeze in their blood to save them from freezing.
The ice cap at Antarctic contains 29 million cubic kilometers of ice. This constitutes nearly 90% of all the ice on the planet and between 60 - 70% of all of the fresh water in the world.
Only 0.4 percent of Antarctica is not covered by ice.
Antarctica is the highest continent in elevation.
On thin Ice Original Arctic Wildlife Painting Polar Bear Painting
