4 What Is Life Like in Antarctica?

Antarctica is like no other place in the world.It is unique.It is very big. It is like the United States and Australia together. Antarctica is the coldest place in the world. The temperature is sometimes -125℉（-87℃）. August and September are the coldest months because there is no sun.

Antarctica is at the southern tip of the world. It is the highest continent. It is 10,000 feet high. Antarctica also has very strong winds. The wind sometimes blows two hundred miles an hour. It is also the driest place in the world. Antarctica is drier than the Sahara Desert!

Antarctica is also empty. There are huge glacier and ice everywhere. A glacier is an area of ice that moves slowly. The ice and glaciers are beautiful. But most plants and land animals cannot live on the ice. It is too cold. There are no trees, no rivers, and no cities in Antarctica. There are no land animals. Only penguins and other sea birds live there.

Antarctica does not belong to any one country. In fact, every country owns Antarctica. More than twenty countries have stations in Antarctica. A station is a place where scientists do experiments. There are separate stations for different countries. The scientists are the only people who live in Antarctica. In all, over four thousand people live at the stations in the summer. Over one thousand people live there in the winter.

Life on an Antarctica station is hard. It is like life on a space station. The sun shines for six months, and then it is night for six months. People usually have problems with sleeping and eating. They eat more because they are not busy. In an emergency, it is hard to get help. In 1999, an American doctor named Jerri Nielsen realized she was sick. She had cancer. It was winter, and airplanes could not land in Antarctica. She was the only doctor there. Dr. Nielsen had no choice. She had to stay.An airplane dropped medicine to her,and she took care of herself. Several months later, Dr. Nielsen returned to the United States to get special medical help.

Today, more and more people visit Antarctica. Ships go to Antarctica during the summer months from November to February. People want to visit this unusual place, but they don't want to live there!