South Shetland Islands
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About South Shetland Islands
The South Shetlands consist of 11 major islands and several minor ones lying about 120 kilometres northward of the Antarctic Peninsula. Between 80 and 90 percent of the land area is permanently glaciated. The highest point on the island chain is Mount Foster on Smith Island at 2105 m.
Antartica as a whole consits of 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock, with an average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to nearly 5,000 meters; ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent.
Wildlife of Antarctica is predominantly marine wildlive with Krill, Penguins, Seals, Sea Lions, Fur Seal and Whales.
Cities in South Shetland Islands
General information
- Climate: Severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and distance from the ocean; East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation; Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate
- Timezone: UTC -4
- Electricity plugs: (show)
- No. of inhabitants:
- Interl. accesscode
- Toplevel domain
- Travel alert: EnjoyYourWorld strongly advises you to take necessary precautions for a safe travel. For more info please follow this link
Good to know
Antarctica has no permanent residents.
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