Difference between revisions of "Template:Westarctica.wiki:Today's featured article"

Latest revision as of 05:48, 2 May 2025

Antarctica (orthographic projection).png

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent. It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14,000,000 km2, it is the fifth-largest continent. For comparison, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 kilometers in thickness, which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Antarctica has no indigenous population and there is no evidence that it was seen by humans until the 19th century. However, belief in the existence of a Terra Australis—a vast continent in the far south of the globe to "balance" the northern lands of Europe, Asia and North Africa—had existed since the times of Ptolemy (1st century AD), who suggested the idea to preserve the symmetry of all known landmasses in the world. Even in the late 17th century, after explorers had found that South America and Australia were not part of the fabled "Antarctica", geographers believed that the continent was much larger than its actual size.

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-[[File:SturgeIsland-Balleny.jpg|300px|left]]
+[[File:Antarctica (orthographic projection).png|250px|left]]
-'''[[Sturge Island]]''' (67°25′S 164°44′E) is the largest island in the uninhabited [[Balleny Islands]] group located in the [[Southern Ocean]]. It lies 25 kilometers (16 mi) southeast of [[Buckle Island]] and 95 kilometres (59 mi) northeast of Belousov Point on the [[Antarctic]] mainland. The islands were discovered by John Balleny in 1839.
+'''[[Antarctica]]''' is Earth's southernmost continent. It contains the geographic [[South Pole]] and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the [[Antarctic Circle]], and is surrounded by the [[Southern Ocean]]. At 14,000,000 km2, it is the fifth-largest continent. For comparison, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by [[ice]] that averages 1.9 kilometers in thickness, which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the [[Antarctic Peninsula]].
-The island is roughly a parallelogram in shape, with long east and west coasts and shorter coasts facing northwest and southeast. It is approximately 5 nautical miles (5.8 mi) in width, and its maximum length is 20 nautical miles (23 mi), between Cape Freeman in the north and Cape Smyth in the south. The island's highest point reaches 1,705 m (5,594 ft) or 1,524 m (5,000 ft) (the unclimbed Brown Peak). This is the highest point in the Balleny chain. Brown Peak is a stratovolcano and is situated on the northern part of Sturge Island. John Balleny discovered Brown Peak in February 1839, and named it for W. Brown, a merchant who provided financial support to the Enderby Brothers' expedition. In 1841, Captain [[James Clark Ross]], who sighted the islands on his own expedition to [[Antarctica]], gave it the name "Russell Peak."
+Antarctica has no indigenous population and there is no evidence that it was seen by humans until the 19th century. However, belief in the existence of a ''Terra Australis''—a vast continent in the far south of the globe to "balance" the northern lands of Europe, Asia and North Africa—had existed since the times of Ptolemy (1st century AD), who suggested the idea to preserve the symmetry of all known landmasses in the world. Even in the late 17th century, after explorers had found that South America and Australia were not part of the fabled "Antarctica", geographers believed that the continent was much larger than its actual size.
-'''([[Sturge Island|Full Article...]])'''
+'''([[Antarctica|Full Article...]])'''