The hidden world of Antarctica. Organic world of Antarctica

Has very limited species diversity animal world. However, even in the extreme climatic conditions of Antarctica, some animals feel excellent. Representatives of the local fauna inhabit the coastal strip of the mainland and live in coastal waters.

There are 4 biosphere “arenas of life” - continental coastal oases (the largest of them is the Banger oasis), coastal ice and islands, the ice sheet arena and the nunatkak arena (Mount Nansen located on Victoria Land and Mount Amundsen in the Mirny region).

All continental animals are completely dependent on the Southern Ocean ecosystem. The lack of sufficient vegetation forced the inhabitants of Antarctica to look for food in a sea rich in zooplankton (primarily krill). In this regard, completely land species There are no animals in Antarctica.

Terrestrial animals of Antarctica are leopard seals, crabeater seals, elephant seals, 17 species of penguins (Adélie penguins, emperor penguins and others), two species of skuas and several species of petrels. Nematodes live in the soil, and up to 70 species of arthropods, including arachnids and insects, can be found on the surface.

Leopard seals(eng. Leopard seal) is a species of seal whose habitat is the sub-Antarctic regions of the Southern Ocean. Male leopard seals reach a length of 3 meters and weigh approximately 270 kg, and females grow up to 4 and have a body weight of up to 0.4 tons. The animals' body has a smooth, streamlined shape, making it possible to glide unhindered through ocean waters at speeds of up to 40 km/h. The diet of these animals includes warm-blooded vertebrates, including young seals and penguins.

Leopard seal

Elephant seals(eng. Elephant seal) - the largest of modern pinnipeds mammals from the family of true seals, distributed in the coastal regions of the Subantarctic and off the Pacific coast North America. They can reach 6.5 m in length, and their weight reaches 3.5 tons. These large ones feed Marine life cephalopods.

Elephant seal

Crabeater seals(eng. Crabeater seal) is a species characteristic of Antarctica, characterized by large numbers. The body length of an adult seal is on average 2-2.5 m, females and males are appearance Almost identical to each other, both of them undergo a molting process every year in early spring, changing the color of their fur from silver-gray to grayish-brown with a few light spots. The food for these seals is small crustaceans.

Crabeater seal

Adelie Penguins(English: Adélie Penguin) are typically Antarctic birds, in whose nests there are up to 700 thousand individuals. These penguins make up 2/3 of all birds in Antarctica. They spend most of their lives in the ocean, and come ashore only during the nesting period. Penguins are called birds only conditionally - they cannot fly, but they can swim very well at speeds of up to 20 km/h. Almost the entire body of Adele is covered with waterproof feathers, and under the skin there is a thick layer of fat that protects from severe frosts. Adélie penguins feed exclusively on krill, cephalopods, mollusks and small fish. The daily amount of food eaten for an adult reaches 2 kg.

Adélie Penguin

Emperor penguins(English: Emperor Penguin) are the largest penguins currently living on Earth, reaching 1.3 m in length and weighing up to 45 kg. These birds have rounded shapes, disproportionately small heads and legs. The body color is black and white: black plumage on the back and white on the chest is the birds’ natural protection from enemies. Emperor penguins have yellow-orange patches of plumage on their cheeks and below their necks. Penguins spend most of the year on drifting ice floes and in the sea, but during mating they return to the mainland. The main food of emperor penguins is krill, shellfish and fish, which they hunt in groups.

Emperor Penguin

Golden-haired penguins(English: Macaroni Penguin) are short (up to 76 cm) penguins that nest colonially near Antarctica and have a tuft of golden-yellow feathers above their eyes.

Macaroni Penguin

King penguins(eng. King Penguin) - birds very similar in appearance to emperor penguins, living in more warm waters north of Antarctica. Compared to the imperial ones, they shorter(about 90 cm) and have a brighter color. They nest in island rocks, where their chicks hatch.

King Penguin

Giant petrels(eng. Giant petrel) are birds that nest on the Antarctic islands, feeding on marine animals and sometimes young penguins. The size of the wings of these birds reaches half a meter. Scientists have found out that petrels, using the power of a tailwind, are able to fly around the entire planet and return to their nesting place.

Giant petrel

Great Skuas(eng. Great Skua) - the closest relatives of seagulls. Their wings reach 40 cm in length, but they walk on the ground as well as they fly. Skuas feed on fish, small animals and birds, and can also be content with carrion.

Great Skua

I suggest watching a video about amazing animals that have perfectly adapted to the harsh climatic conditions of Antarctica.

Severe and regal, mysterious and alluring, Antarctica has a very limited species diversity of fauna. However, even in the extreme climatic conditions of Antarctica, some animals feel excellent.

Representatives of the local fauna inhabit the coastal strip of the mainland and live in coastal waters.

Terrestrial animals of Antarctica are leopard seals, crabeater seals, elephant seals, 17 species of penguins (Adélie penguins, emperor penguins and others), two species of skuas and several species of petrels. Nematodes live in the soil, and up to 70 species of arthropods, including arachnids and insects, can be found on the surface.

Leopard seal- a species of seal whose habitat is the sub-Antarctic regions of the Southern Ocean. Male leopard seals reach a length of 3 meters and weigh approximately 270 kg, and females grow up to 4 meters and have a body weight of up to 0.4 tons. The animals' body has a smooth, streamlined shape, making it possible to glide unhindered through ocean waters at speeds of up to 40 km/h. The diet of these animals includes warm-blooded vertebrates, including young seals and penguins.

Crabeater seal- a species characteristic of Antarctica, characterized by large numbers. The body length of an adult seal is on average 2-2.5 m, females and males are almost identical in appearance to each other, and both of them go through a molting process every year in early spring, changing the color of their fur from silver-gray to grayish-brown. a few light spots. The food for these seals is small crustaceans.

Adélie Penguins- typically Antarctic birds, in whose nests there are up to 700 thousand individuals. These penguins make up 2/3 of all birds in Antarctica. They spend most of their lives in the ocean, and come ashore only during the nesting period. Penguins are called birds only conditionally - they cannot fly, but they can swim very well at speeds of up to 20 km/h. Almost the entire body of Adele is covered with waterproof feathers, and under the skin there is a thick layer of fat that protects from severe frosts. Adélie penguins feed exclusively on krill, cephalopods, mollusks and small fish. The daily amount of food eaten for an adult reaches 2 kg.

Emperor Penguins- the largest penguins currently living on Earth, reaching 1.3 m in length and weighing up to 45 kg. These birds have rounded shapes, disproportionately small heads and legs. The body color is black and white: black plumage on the back and white on the chest is the birds’ natural protection from enemies. Emperor penguins have yellow-orange patches of plumage on their cheeks and below their necks. Penguins spend most of the year on drifting ice floes and in the sea, but during mating they return to the mainland. The main food of emperor penguins is krill, shellfish and fish, which they hunt in groups.

King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonica)

Lives further north, in more warm places. Breeding colonies are located on the islands of South Georgia, Kerguelen, Marion, Crozet and Macquarie.
Body length is 91-96 cm. Colonies are located on hard rocky soil. Reproduction occurs in summer: eggs are laid mainly in December - January. Each female lays only 1 large egg. Both parents incubate alternately. Incubation duration 54 days

Rockhopper penguin or rock climber penguin, rock penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome)

It lives on the rocky islands of the subantarctic region, but is sometimes found further north, on the southern tip of Africa and South America, as well as on the south coast of New Zealand.
Reaches 45-58 cm in height, weight 2-3 kg.

It nests in large colonies on the barren and very harsh islands of Tristanda Cunha and Heard Island. In a noisy and crowded colony, the small first egg is usually lost in quarrels with neighbors. The chicks go to the nursery, but return to the nest when their parents call them to feed them. The chicks grow quickly and at the age of 10 weeks are ready to go to sea.

Victoria penguin or crested thick-billed penguin (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus)

It nests only on the rocky, creviced coast of South Island in New Zealand, as well as on two small offshore islands - Stuart and Solander.
Reaches 60 cm in length, weighing about 3 kg.

Golden-haired penguins (eng. Macaroni Penguin) – Colonially nesting near Antarctica, low (up to 76 cm) penguins have a tuft of golden-yellow feathers above their eyes.

Little penguin, elf penguin, little blue penguin, little blue penguin (Eudyptula minor)

It stays off the southern coast of Australia, along the coasts of Tasmania, New Zealand and Chatham Island.
It has a body length of only 40 cm. Usually lays 1-2, sometimes 3 eggs.

Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica)

It lives mainly on the barren islands of the subantarctic region.
It reaches a height of 71-76 cm and weighs 4 kg.
These penguins are quite aggressive. There are known cases of these birds attacking people who approach the colony. Unlike other species, they feed both their chicks.

Giant petrels

birds nesting on Antarctic islands, feeding on marine animals and sometimes young penguins. The size of the wings of these birds reaches half a meter. Scientists have found out that petrels, using the power of a tailwind, are able to fly around the entire planet and return to their nesting place.

Great Skuas

Closest relatives of seagulls. Their wings reach 40 cm in length, but they walk on the ground as well as they fly. Skuas feed on fish, small animals and birds, and can also be content with carrion.

Skuas are bandits, and that's all. There are four types of them, and all of them - some more, some less - commit robbery. Eggs and chicks are stolen from neighbors. Penguins are especially affected by great skuas. Great skuas, which are as tall as a large herring gull, use their strong beaks to kill even adult birds that they can overpower.

New Year's greetings from penguins

On our planet there is an ice kingdom - Antarctica. This is a continent that is almost completely covered with ice; there is no ice only on the mountain ranges.

Temperatures are always low here and severe winds blow, so weather influenced appearance animals.

In general, the flora and fauna of Antarctica is very poor and unique; it has no analogues in the world.

Adelie Penguins

The most common inhabitants of Antarctica are Adélie penguins. They are mostly found in water, since water is warmer than air. They come to the surface only for nesting.

The males of these penguins are very careful about finding a mate and caring for their offspring. The male finds a suitable pebble and brings it to his chosen one; if the female likes the pebble, then she becomes the male’s partner for life.

All newborn chicks are collected in a “nursery”, and after 60 days all the babies become adults and can search for food on their own. Each adult requires 2 kilograms of food daily.

Baleen whales of Antarctica

The wildlife of this rugged area is not limited to just penguins. The Antarctic ocean is home to the largest mammals - cetaceans. There are two types of whales in Antarctica: baleen and toothed.

Baleen whales are the best studied, because they are the object of whaling. This group includes humpback whales, fin whales, blue whales and true whales. The largest is. They and fin whales are what people hunt the most. The body length of the largest individual killed in Antarctica was 35 meters, but on average blue whales are about 26 meters long. A large whale can produce up to 20 tons of blubber, and its total weight is 16 tons.

Big blue whale- a representative of the baleen whale family.

The diet of baleen whales consists mainly of small crustaceans, which are found in abundance in icy Antarctic waters. Female whales feed their babies milk, and every day they gain 100 kilograms from this fatty food.

Toothed whales of the ice kingdom

Toothed whales include bottlenose whales, killer whales and. The most the most dangerous predators are killer whales. With the help of its powerful and sharp killer whale fin, the killer whale is capable of inflicting serious wounds even on a whale.

The diet of killer whales is very diverse, but each individual population has its own specialization.

For example, killer whales living near Norway hunt for schools of herring, which are abundant in those waters. Killer whales hunt in packs, and they do it in a sophisticated manner, so the hunt always ends in success.

These killers attack seals, fur seals, dolphins, sea ​​lions and even sperm whales. When hunting for seals, killer whales make ambushes, hiding behind ice ledges. When penguins become their prey, the killer whales jump onto the ice floe, turning it over and throwing the prey into the water.

Large whales are hunted primarily by male killer whales. They all attack the prey together, snatching pieces of meat from the fins and throat, while preventing the whale from rising to the surface. And if they attack a sperm whale, then, on the contrary, they do not allow it to dive into the depths.

Killer whales are huge, social Antarctic creatures.

Killer whales have an excellently developed social structure. The maternal group includes a female with a baby, matured sons and several families consisting of direct relatives of the main female. Such social groups may consist of approximately 20 individuals. All of them are quite tightly attached to their relatives. Each pack has its own way of communicating. Killer whales do not allow their crippled or old relatives to die. Relations within the pack can be called very affectionate and friendly.

Scientists at remote Antarctic stations report seeing moving sources of strong light under the ice. Reports from several Antarctic stations were urgent and scientists were worried about their safety. They require urgent action...
These messages caused confusion to the governments of those countries whose monitoring stations sent such distress signals.
In addition to alarming messages from US Antarctic stations, similar information was received from Russian scientists. Previously, a group of Russian scientists repeatedly reported the observation of light and sound anomalies in the area of ​​the Vostok station, located near a subglacial lake in Antarctica.

European scientists say that SOMETHING located under the ice of Antarctica got there 12,000 years ago, when this continent was not yet covered with ice. What lies there is the oldest man-made structure on Earth.

There is evidence that back in 2001, the United States sent an expedition with drilling rigs and heavy equipment for excavations, including those based on laser drills. And the anomalous activity in the subglacial space appears to be the result of this excavation of an ancient structure under the ice shell.

An emergency evacuation of scientists from Antarctic stations located in the area is reported.

Scientists have appealed to the US Congress with a demand to open information to the public and the scientific community about what was discovered in Antarctica, writes realnewsreporter.com

It is known that over the past few years, Candolisa Rice and Nikolai Patrushev have visited Antarctica. American research is supervised by the almighty NSA, which is somewhat strange. The presence of tourists in Antarctica is strictly regulated and they stay there for no more than 4 hours. All unauthorized travel is stopped by “men in black”. So, what is it under the icy shell of Antarctica that can so attract government circles in the United States and Russia that they send scientific expeditions equipped with expensive and carefully classified equipment to the sixth continent, in the area of ​​Lake Vostok?

Some time after the events described, two travelers set off from the Australian Antarctic station Casey towards Lake Vostok, intending to cross the Antarctic continent on skis. When they reached the lake and were already walking along its ice cover, an American Air Force plane suddenly landed not far from them, and “persons in civilian clothes” invited the brave girls to board it, explaining that they had come to save them. Meanwhile, the travelers had properly working means of communication, and they did not ask for any help. It is known that during their ski trip, the girls told relatives and friends via satellite phones that upon their return they would tell them about something completely incredible. However, when they returned home, they didn’t say anything like that and didn’t give any interviews.”

Politicians often visit Antarctica Since December 2005
Sergei Ivanov, as First Deputy Prime Minister, oversaw the GLONASS project. Then President Vladimir Putin gave a personal instruction to Mr. Ivanov to speed up the deployment of the system: GLONASS was to begin operating throughout Russia by January 1, 2008.

December 28, 2006
The US Air Force, as part of Operation Deep Freeze, for the first time carried out a large-scale parachute landing of 40 tons of cargo directly to the South Pole using heavy military transport C-17 Globemaster III...

January 5, 2007
The director landed at the Antarctic Bellingshausen station Federal service security Nikolai Patrushev together with the first deputy director of the FSB - head of the border service of the FSB of Russia Vladimir Pronichev and State Duma deputy Artur Chilingarov.

Two Russian helicopter Mi-8 reached the South Pole for the first time today. On board the helicopters were State Duma deputy Artur Chilingarov, head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Nikolai Patrushev, his first deputy and head of the FSB border service Vladimir Pronichev, as well as head of the World Meteorological Organization Alexander Bednitsky. The expedition members met with American polar explorers...

March 12, 2008
First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov yesterday visited the Russian scientific station“Novolazarevskaya” in Antarctica. Ivanov flew around the eastern regions “ white continent”, inspected the Novolazarevskaya station, held a meeting on transport support for polar explorers, presented them with government awards and promised an additional runway.

“Flying to Antarctica” sounds easy. A six-hour flight from Cape Town instead of several (one to six) weeks that the same journey takes, but by water. And a light phrase becomes overgrown with difficult details as it moves along. The head of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), Alexey Fedorov, honestly warned: if the weather on Novolazarevskaya suddenly deteriorates, the Il-76 will not return to Cape Town. Its fuel reserve is for 8 hours of flight, but here it is 6 hours only in one direction. Two hours before landing is the “return point”. This is such an optimistic version of its name; in fact, it is rather a “point of no return” - if you don’t turn around in time, there may be no way back.

Now about the visit to Antarctica of the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Ivanov with a whole retinue of ministers, a lot of questions arise:

When have politicians taken such risks? The Prime Minister, a couple of other ministers, and with them high-ranking official practically at the rank of a sectoral minister. Well, okay, we got to Cape Town in the usual comfort of an IL-62VIP, which is not for mere mortals, but only for the government, and along safe air routes over the continents. But then we transferred to the military transport Il-76TD without amenities, where luxury had never existed, and for another 6 hours we flew over the deserted and cold Southern Ocean, where only whaling ships are, and even then rarely, they don’t appear every year, and practically “to nowhere” - without any navigation and dispatch support and support from the ground. What happens - the land plane will not be able to land on the water, and there will be no help from anywhere...

So, what is Antarctica?
Until recently, Antarctica was considered a continent covered with ice for millions of years. But now this is actually being refuted; remains of dinosaurs and other forms of previously unknown life are being found. It is interesting that our Bellenshausen discovered Antarctica; many believed that it did not exist at all. But there were already maps of this land without ice, the most famous is the map of the Ottoman admiral Piri Reis of the 16th century, there are also maps of Antarctica from Mercator and other cartographers. The authenticity of the map was confirmed only after the 2nd World War, thanks to the expedition of our polar explorers. Where do these maps come from, who could have compiled them, why such aerial photography accuracy?

Why did the US military come to Antarctica?
There was a clear interest in Antarctica about a year ago. A familiar sailor from the icebreaker “I. Khlebnikov” talked about the caravan they were leading from 7 American ships to Antarctica. He told me what he saw, a lot of incomprehensible equipment and a lot of military personnel. All this went deep into the continent and was accompanied by all kinds of secrecy (the icebreaker was in the roadstead when unloading, the crew was not allowed ashore at first, but they watched the American landing with binoculars) So the question is - well, okay, technology (although why so much?), but why do they need soldiers in Antarctica?

New Swabia reality? There is direct documentary evidence that from 1940 to 1943, the Nazis built certain secret facilities in Antarctica in the area of ​​Queen Maud Land. Soviet intelligence knew the following for certain. Some German scientists shared the “hollow Earth” theory, according to which gigantic voids exist under the surface of the planet, representing real oases with warm air.
According to German experts, similar voids existed in Antarctica. In the archival documents of SMERSH studied by Itogi there is information that in 1938 German submariners, who explored the ice continent, allegedly found something under the thickness of the ice. If you believe the secret documents, then we're talking about about “territories underground, but with the same mountains and continents, oceans fresh water, the internal sun around which the Earth rotates.” Access to these territories is possible as a result of special maneuvers when diving in submarines. The directions have been preserved. The Germans, assuming that the cards could fall into the wrong hands, made several options, including false ones. The maps were printed in 1,500 copies in the Dachau concentration camp in the “Sonderlab” in January 1944, which indicates the extreme secrecy of the information. It is not surprising that all the people involved in their production were destroyed.

In any case, these were not just cards. On each of them, numbers and symbols that require decoding by specialists in the field of astronomy and navigation indicate different keys. There is a suspicion that they are used depending on the seasons and the location of the Moon. At the very end of the war people's commissar navy The USSR intelligence service sent ten copies of German underwater maps to Admiral Nikolai Kuznetsov for “organizing the planned work and developing proposals.”

Historians, working with SS archival documents, have found specific records. “My submariners have discovered a real earthly paradise,” said the commander of the German submarine fleet, Admiral Doenitz. And one more mysterious phrase that came from his lips: “German submarine fleet is proud that he has created an impregnable fortress for the Fuhrer on the other side of the world.” Hitler himself allegedly spilled the beans on this topic. At a celebration marking the completion of the new Reich Chancellery building, he said: “Okay! If in this divided and re-divided Europe it is possible to annex a couple of states to the Reich in a few days, then no problems are foreseen with Antarctica, even more so...”

From secret documents It follows that in 1940, in Antarctica, on the personal instructions of the Fuhrer, the construction of two underground bases began. Their purpose was exclusively functional - they were reliable shelters and at the same time testing grounds for the creation of super-advanced technologies. None sacred meaning No one invested in these objects.

38 were used to transport goods to distant lands submarines from the Fuhrer Convoy formation. Mentions of these boats are also found in documents Soviet intelligence: “... I report that on June 11, 1945, SMERSH counterintelligence officers of the 79th Rifle Corps in the building of the headquarters of the German Navy at the address: Berlin-Tiergarten, Tirpitzzufer 38-42, “passage cards” were found in the office premises depths of the sea” with the stamp “only for captains of A-class submarines of the Führer’s Sonder Convoy” in the amount of 38 pieces under numbers with the series “44″ No. from 0188 to 0199... from No. 0446 to 0456″.

According to some military historians, at the very end of the war, in the German port of Kiel, torpedo weapons were removed from these submarines and loaded with containers with various cargoes. In addition, the submarines took on board several hundred passengers, who were destined to become residents of New Swabia.

Mysteries of Antarctica

It would seem, what mysteries and secrets can be discovered on an uninhabited continent, where over 99% of the territory is covered with a layer of ice up to four kilometers thick, average temperature even summer months ranges from -30o to -50o C, there is practically no vegetation, and the fauna is represented only by penguins and seals living on the coast? However…

In Antarctica, at a distance of 480 kilometers from the South Pole, there is a huge Lake Vostok. In area it is not inferior to such lakes as Onega, Chad and Nicaragua. The thickness of the ice over the lake is from three and a half to four and a half kilometers, it greatest depth– 1200 meters, and in the area of ​​the Russian Antarctic station “Vostok” located just above it – 680 meters. Scientists around the world consider the study of this unique lake one of the most interesting and intractable scientific problems beginning of the XXI century.

When data received from American orbital satellites showed that there was a cavity 800 meters high above the water surface of the lake, covered with an ice dome, and instruments registered high magnetic activity there, the further implementation of the American research program was suddenly interrupted, and all civilian specialists were removed from it. Management further work passed to certain government structures and departments.

Until 2000, an international team of scientists was engaged in research on the lake on the American side, but then the Department took over the reins. national security USA. NASA media relations spokeswoman Deborah Schingteller said the change was dictated by national security concerns. Immediately after these words, one of the NASA managers took a place in front of the microphone, clarifying that “the research was interrupted to ensure environmental safety.” environment" Since then, no journalist has been able to contact Deborah Schingteller and find out what kind of security she had in mind.

So, what is it under the icy shell of Antarctica that can so attract government circles in the United States and Russia that they send scientific expeditions equipped with expensive and carefully classified equipment to the sixth continent, in the area of ​​Lake Vostok?

Instruments installed on satellites showed that the water temperature in the lake ranges from +10o to +18oC! This means that in the depths of the lake there are geothermal or some other heat sources. Analyzing the instrument readings, scientists suggested that a self-cleaning atmosphere could exist in the cavity between the ice dome covering the lake and its water surface, and perhaps plants could live in it.

According to information published in foreign sources, in February 2000, two groups of scientists, carrying out a joint research program funded by the US and British governments, intended to lower special probes equipped with various sensors into the waters of the lake. But suddenly they received instructions to stop all work on the program. There was no explanation for this. And at the same time, a new contingent of researchers allegedly arrived at the Russian Antarctic station, along with which they brought a large number of complex and expensive equipment. Moreover, all this happened in deep secrecy.

Some time after the events described, two travelers set off from the Australian Antarctic station Casey towards Lake Vostok, intending to cross the Antarctic continent on skis. When they reached the lake and were already walking along its ice cover, an American Air Force plane suddenly landed not far from them, and “persons in civilian clothes” invited the brave girls to board it, explaining that they had come to save them. Meanwhile, the travelers had properly working means of communication, and they did not ask for any help. It is known that during their ski trip, the girls told relatives and friends via satellite phones that upon their return they would tell them about something completely incredible. However, when they returned home, they did not say anything like that and did not give any interviews.

In connection with the above, some ufologists and researchers mysterious phenomena nature and the mysteries of history are discussing the possibility of the existence in Antarctica - on its surface or under the ice cover - of a secret UFO base or German Nazis (!), and some believe that one does not exclude the other.

As for the last two assumptions, even with the most skeptical attitude towards UFOs, the idea of ​​​​the existence of a Nazi base in Antarctica seems even more fantastic, if not downright absurd. But perhaps we shouldn’t rush to such conclusions...

In the summer of 1940, in the mountainous area near the city of Kowary, in the very southwest of occupied Poland, the Nazis created a strictly secret The educational center. Soldiers and officers specially selected from elite units Wehrmacht. They were trained for combat operations in the most harsh conditions such polar zones as the Arctic and... Antarctica.

The decision to annex Dronning Maud Land - Norwegian possessions in eastern Antarctica - was made by the German command back in May 1940, shortly after the surrender of Norway. For this purpose, a special military unit was formed under the command of General Alfred Richter, the backbone of which was to be made up of those who will undergo training in the camp near Kowary. There is information that the Germans had plans to land on Queen Maud Land since 1938 and even came up with a name for this territory in advance: New Swabia. Allegedly, even then Richter flew over it in a small plane and dropped several dozen pennants with swastikas, demonstrating complete disregard for international agreements about the division of Antarctica. And in 1941, the Germans actually landed in Antarctica, in what they believed were former Norwegian possessions, and founded their Oasis station there in an area now known as Banger's Oasis, named after the American pilot who discovered it in 1946 . Antarctic "oases" are areas of land that are free of ice. Their origin is not fully understood. Some ufologists and researchers historical mysteries and unknown phenomena, including the Pole Robert Lesniakiewicz and the Slovak Milos Jesensky suggest that one of the reasons for the formation, in particular, of the Banger Oasis, the largest in Antarctica, could be... experiments with nuclear energy conducted by the Germans at the Oasis station during Second World War. They write about this in their book “Wunderland”. Extraterrestrial Technologies in the Third Reich", published in 1999 in Warsaw.

Epilogue What have they discovered in Antarctica now? Is this a parallel civilization or the base of an alien civilization, New Swabia, or is SOMETHING living there?

I think we will soon find out about this, perhaps now we are witnessing the opening of the next chapter of the “Coverup” project...

Antarctica is the most cold continent Earth. With its unique natural features Antarctica must geographical location. Almost the entire continent is located beyond the Antarctic Circle. The sun never rises high above the horizon. In the summer, the polar day comes to Antarctica, and in the winter - the polar night, the duration of which is South Pole up to six months - only once a year you can watch the sunrise and sunset here. Oblique Sun rays They cannot warm this continent, and therefore Antarctica is in the grip of eternal cold. It is covered with a kilometer-long ice shell, only in some places black bare Antarctic rocks - nunataks - can be seen from under the ice. Natural world the mainland is quite scarce. Plants here are dominated by mosses and lichens; there are several species of flowering plants. They set up their own rookeries along the shores of Antarctica seals, flocks of penguins are settling in. Due to its removal, Antarctica became the last discovered continent on Earth. Its discovery occurred only in the 19th century during the Russian Antarctic expedition led by F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev. Antarctica was the only continent on the planet that could not be inhabited by humans. And today there is no permanent population in Antarctica; moreover, all territories south of the 60th parallel do not belong to any state in the world and are the property of all humanity. Here is the so-called pole of inaccessibility - the point as far as possible from everyone settlements Earth. International research is actively underway in Antarctica; there are now 37 stations with a total staff of up to 3,000 people. At the Soviet Vostok station, now the only inland Russian polar station, the lowest temperature on Earth was recorded on July 21, 1983 - 89.2 ° C. Really, climatic conditions Antarctica is the harshest on the entire planet, with exceptional low temperatures There is very little precipitation here, and strong winds blow at speeds of up to 90 m/s. Antarctica's climate is very similar to Mars.

A list of geographical objects for 7th grade students that you need to know and mark on the contour map:

Coastline:
Seas: Wedell, Lazarev, Larsen, Cosmonauts, Commonwealth, D'Urville, Somov, Ross, Amundsen, Bellingshausen.
Peninsulas: Antarctic
Lands: Victoria, Wilkes, Queen Maud, Alexander I, Ellsworth, Mary Baird
Relief:
Mountains: Transantarctic, Vernadsky, Gamburtsev, Vinson Massif
Plains: Baird, Schmidt, Eastern
Plateau: Soviet, Polar, Eastern
Highest point: g. (5140 m)
Volcanoes: Erebus, Terror
Climate:
Glaciers: Rossa, Ronne, Lambert
Cold Circum-Antarctic Western Wind Current
Other important objects
South Pole, Magnetic pole, Pole of inaccessibility, Vostok station (pole of cold), Russian stations: Mirny, Progress, Novolazarevskaya, Bellingshausen
Mark traveler routes