Antarctic Peninsula facts for kids

Where the Antarctic peninsula is found in Antarctica

Close-up map of the peninsula

The Antarctic Peninsula is the largest peninsula in Antarctica. The peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica. It is 1300 km and reaches from Cape Adams (Weddell Sea) and a point on the mainland south of Eklund Islands. The northern tip is about 1000 km (600 miles) from Tierra del Fuego. There are many research stations as well as multiple claims of sovereignty on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Average temperatures on the peninsula have risen by nearly 2°C in the past 50 years which makes the Antarctic Peninsula one of the fastest warming places on Earth.

Images for kids

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  Antarctic Peninsula map

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  Booth Island and Mount Scott flank the narrow Lemaire Channel on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, 2001

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  Off the coast of the Peninsula are numerous islands. Here is Webb Island and, behind it, Adelaide Island. See the image description page for a detailed description of the other geographical features.

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  German research vessel RV Polarstern at the wharf of the British Rothera Research Station

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  Geographic map of Antarctica

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  Satellite image of Antarctic Peninsula

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  Relief map

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  Nearly cloud-free view of the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula during Spring

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  Hope Bay glacier, 2012

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  The last ice age in thousands of years

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  Glaciomarine sedimentation at the margin of an ice-covered continent during interglacial

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  The Antarctic fur seal, once reduced to a small population on South Georgia after being hunted towards extinction, has returned to the waters around the Antarctic Peninsula.

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  Adélie penguins, 2012

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  Antarctic Peninsula's tectonic movement

See also

In Spanish: Península Antártica para niños