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Antarctica is a frozen continent located at the bottom of the earth. Antarctica doesn’t have any human population who live there permanently but there are some scientists that stay for 6 months or more to take samples of minerals or other rare earths.

The Antarctic mining treaty has prohibited mining in Antarctica unless oil runs out from other countries or they could find another way to substitute oil such as solar power or electricity. Although some scientists on Antarctica have found tiny quantities of iron ore, chromium, copper, gold, nickel, platinum and coal, hydrocarbons have been found in small uncommercial quantities. There are some 400 lichen species existing and this is the only living form of plant on Antarctica. The only reason Antarctica doesn’t have any other plants is because of the lack of sunlight with winter all year long. Antarctica doesn’t supply enough minerals, food and oil so is not sustainable to live there, plus your house would be blown away by the treacherous strong winds.

There are only two ways to get to Antarctica. You can either go by cruise ship or aeroplane. A cruise ship is more luxurious and scenic. Planes are sometimes not recommended because of many weather related risks but fuel can also be a problem for non-amphibious planes. The tiny window of an aeroplane is not enough to see the extraordinary sights of Antarctica, but they are a faster and cheaper source of transport. In contrast, when travelling to the North Pole, amphibious hovercrafts and helicopters are generally a better way of getting around because the hovercrafts could glide over the ice sheets. Some people like to take their sailboats to Antarctica from South America during calm weather, however strong winds from Cape Horn, at the bottom of South America can cause devastating results.

media type="custom" key="19356034" What is the cutest, most cuddly animal on the whole of Antarctica? The Fur Seal of course! Adult male Antarctic fur seals can weigh up to 200kg, adult females about 40 kg, and pups weigh 3-7 kg at birth. Antarctic fur seals breed mainly on 10 of the sub-Antarctic islands. Pups are born from late November to early January and are suckled for about 4 months. Some fur seals feed mainly on krill, while others feed mainly on fish and squid. They can dive to more than 100m, but generally dive to around 30m. They stay underwater for 2 to 5 minutes.

Antarctica would be the best place to hold the 2018 Winter Olympics, so why haven’t they ever held it in Antarctica? Antarctica has snow and ice all year round and is perfect for Giant Slalom, Alpine, Moguls and long jump. Although where are the tourists, the judges and the competitors going to stay and rest? There are officially only about 35 stations for the scientists who visit all year and none for the competitors, plus they don’t have an airport or food supplies to feed the people, so although Antarctica would be the best place to hold the Winter Olympics for the events, it wouldn’t be the best place to stay.

In the winter Antarctica doubles in size due to the sea ice that forms around the coasts.Antarctica is a continent almost entirely buried by snow and ice. It is so hostile and remote that it has no permanent residents and is the world's last great wilderness.