why is drake passage so dangerous

Can you fly to Antarctica?

You can get to Antarctica by boat or plane. … Flying to Antarctica takes 2 hours. Approximately 54,000 visitors make the journey each year, with around 50 expedition vessels sailing Antarctic waters each season.

Does the South Pole get a lot of precipitation?

Almost all Antarctic precipitation falls as snow. Rainfall is rare and mainly occurs during the summer in coastal areas and surrounding islands. Note that the quoted precipitation is a measure of its equivalence to water, rather than being the actual depth of snow. The air in Antarctica is also very dry.

How big do the waves get in the Drake Passage?

The Drake Passage is considered one of the most treacherous voyages for ships to make. Currents at its latitude meet no resistance from any landmass, and waves top 40 feet (12 m), hence its reputation as “the most powerful convergence of seas”.

Is it safe to sail to Antarctica?

The Sailing

Travel to Antarctica is not a particularly dangerous endeavour, with the only possible (but not probable) discomfort resulting from crossing the Drake Passage, regarded as the world’s most tumultuous body of water.

Can you see Antarctica from Argentina?

But the easiest way to get to Antarctica is simple. All you need to do is reach Buenos Aires, Argentina or Punta Arenas, Chile. … Voyages departing from Ushuaia, Argentina access Antarctica by sea.

How long does it take to go through the Drake Passage?

Though the Drake Passage is situated in one of the most remote parts of the world, it is one of the primary ways to reach Antarctica. In general, the journey takes approximately 36 hours from Ushuaia, Argentina (the southernmost city in the world). Around 75,000 people per year journey to Antarctica via sea voyage.

How cold is the Drake Passage?

Drake Passage weather and waves

Passengers heading across the Drake Passage can expect temperatures ranging from about 5°C (41°F) in the north to -3°C (26°F) in the south. Whether you get a storm during your Drake crossing is a bit of a gamble, as there is no real storm-less season.

How much does it cost to go to Antarctica?

How much does a trip to Antarctica cost? The average cost of a trip to Antarctica is around USD$9,000 per person. The most economical cruises to Antarctica start at just under USD$5000 per person for a 6 to 10 day trip.

Which ocean is most stormy?

The Stormiest Seas In The World

• Bay of Biscay. …
• Cook Strait, between North & South Islands of New Zealand. …
• Drake Passage, Southern tip of South America. …
• Irminger Sea, between southern Greenland & Iceland. …
• Maracaibo Lake, Venezuela. …
• Port George lV, Western Australia. …
• South China Sea. …
• Southern Ocean.

Why is the Atlantic so rough?

The Atlantic Ocean ranks the second in the catalogue of the most dangerous ocean waters in the world. This ocean water is usually affected by coastal winds, temperature of the water surface and the water currents. … The ocean water currents have an extremely unpredictable characteristic.

How many ships have sunk in the Drake Passage?

The demographics of the Drake

The Drake Passage has been described as having the roughest seas in the world; 20,000 sailors have lost their lives there and its waters hold more than 800 shipwrecks.

Can I walk across Antarctica?

A 33-year-old American man has become the first person to cross Antarctica alone and unassisted. Explorer Colin O’Brady finished in 53 days, ahead of British Army Captain Louis Rudd, 49, after an epic race across the ice.

What are temperatures like in Antarctica?

Antarctica’s average annual temperature ranges from about −10 °C on the coast to −60 °C at the highest parts of the interior. Near the coast, the temperature can exceed +10 °C in summer and fall to below −40 °C in winter. Over the elevated inland, it can rise to about −30 °C in summer but fall below −80 °C in winter.

When can you see penguins in Antarctica?

The best time to see the highest concentration of penguins in Antarctica is during the Austral spring and summer, in the months between October and February. Penguins tend to split their time evenly between land and water yet it’s during the warmer months that they tend to waddle on land for longer periods.

What is the coldest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica?

The current temperatures are still some distance from the coldest ever observed on the continent. In July 1983, Vostok plummeted to minus-129 degrees (minus-89.6 Celsius). Satellites have detected temperatures as low as minus-144 degrees (minus-98 Celsius).

What are the 12 countries in Antarctica?

Countries with Territorial Claims in Antarctica:

• France (Adélie Land)
• United Kingdom (British Antarctic Territory)
• New Zealand (Ross Dependency)
• Norway (Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land)
• Australia (Australian Antarctic Territory)
• Chile (Chilean Antarctic Territory)
• Argentina (Argentine Antarctica)

Who Discovered Antarctica?

The first confirmed sighting of mainland Antarctica, on 27 January 1820, is attributed to the Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, discovering an ice shelf at Princess Martha Coast that later became known as the Fimbul Ice Shelf.

Is it legal to live in Antarctica?

No-one lives in Antarctica indefinitely in the way that they do in the rest of the world. It has no commercial industries, no towns or cities, no permanent residents. The only “settlements” with longer term residents (who stay for some months or a year, maybe two) are scientific bases.

What flag is Antarctica?

Antarctica has no universally-recognized flag as the condominium that governs the continent has not yet formally selected one, although some individual Antarctic programs have formally adopted True South as the flag of the continent. Dozens of unofficial designs have also been proposed.

Who governs Antarctica?

Antarctica doesn’t belong to anyone. There is no single country that owns Antarctica. Instead, Antarctica is governed by a group of nations in a unique international partnership. The Antarctic Treaty, first signed on December 1, 1959, designates Antarctica as a continent devoted to peace and science.

Why is so cold in Antarctica?

Both the Arctic (North Pole) and the Antarctic (South Pole) are cold because they don’t get any direct sunlight. The Sun is always low on the horizon, even in the middle of summer. In winter, the Sun is so far below the horizon that it doesn’t come up at all for months at a time.

Is Antarctica getting colder?

There is no evidence that any significant region of Antarctic has been cooling over the long term, except in fall. In a 2016 paper, Turner and others point out that if one considers just the last ~18 years, the trend on the Antarctic Peninsula has been cooling.

What is the coldest place on Earth?

Back to top button