Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica. This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches. Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, i.e), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet - with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Driest Place on Earth
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica. This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches. Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, i.e), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet - with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.
Actually,the driest place on the Earth is Atacama Desert in Chile,next to the biggest body of water - the Pacific Ocean. Some areas of the Atacama Desert haven't had rainfall for 400 years. Normally, it rains every 100 years. Atacama is a desert but you'll still need to bring warm clothes when you visit. Oddly enough, the Atacama is a cold place with temperatures somewhere between 0 and 25 degrees Celsius.
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