Poles Apart

The name Antarctica was coined to mean "opposite to the Arctic". Antarctica is a high, ice-covered landmass. While in the Arctic, the landmasses are grouped around the ice-covered Arctic Ocean. Because of this difference, the climate of the two areas is very different. Antarctica is the coldest area in the world. On the average, it is about 30 degrees colder than the Arctic. Partly because of this climatic difference, the land animals and plants of the two regions are very different. In Antarctica, there are very few plants. While in Arctic, there are many plants. Penguins populate Antarctica coastlines but do not exist in the Arctic. The land animals of the Arctic are foxes, bears, reindeer, and lemmings. Ice is the great feature of Antarctica. If this great volume of ice were to melt, the volume of the world oceans would increase, and sea level would rise.