Vortex Island (Vortex, Isla)
Vortex Island (-63.73333°N, -57.63333°W) is an island 0.5 nautical miles (0.9 km) long and 245 m high, lying in the northeast part of Prince Gustav Channel about 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) west-southwest of Corry Island, close south of Trinity Peninsula. Islands in this area were first seen by a party under J. Gunnar Andersson of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04. Vortex Island was first charted by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in August 1945. The FIDS survey party was forced to lie idle there by a whirlwind snowstorm, thus suggesting the name.
Vortex Island is composed of Pleistocene volcanic rocks of the James Ross Island Volcanic Group, consisting of a tuya or moberg, which is a volcano erupted under an icecap. Yellow layers are palagonite weathering of steeply dipping ash layers, whereas black layers are basalt flows and pillow basalts.
Vortex Island is composed of Pleistocene volcanic rocks of the James Ross Island Volcanic Group, consisting of a tuya or moberg, which is a volcano erupted under an icecap. Yellow layers are palagonite weathering of steeply dipping ash layers, whereas black layers are basalt flows and pillow basalts.
Map - Vortex Island (Vortex, Isla)
Map
Country - Antarctica
Antarctica is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than Europe, and has an area of 14200000 km2. Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9 km.
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 m. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 C. The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 C in summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 m. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 C. The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 C in summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.