West Antarctica

Westantarktika, Eng. West Antarctica, or Lesser Antarctica, is situated in the Western Hemisphere, part of the southern continent Antarctica.

Geography

Westantarktika is separated from Ostantarktika by the Transantarctic Mountains. It consists of Marie Byrd Land, Ellsworthland and extends further in the form of an approximately 2000 km long sub-continent to the north in the Antarctic Peninsula and its offshore South Shetland Islands to the Drake Passage. Geologic sets the Antarctic Peninsula continues in the archipelagos of Südorkneyinseln and. The continuation in the South Orkneys, South Sandwich Islands and other islands that surround the Scotia arc, lies beyond the continental shelf and is no longer expected in the Antarctic continent.

Due to the geographical shape of Westantarktika the climate is there more from the sea. Due to the balancing effect of the sea the temperatures are not as extreme deep as in the rest of the mainland. On the Antarctic Peninsula summer temperatures can sometimes rise even up to 0 to 3 ° C, so that sometimes melts the ice in some locations protected and the bare rock is revealed.

Westantarktika has a geologically different from the rest of the continent structure and is largely separated from the center by the Filchner - Ronne Ice Shelf. Its mountain ranges reach in Mount Jackson almost 4200 meters above sea level; the highest elevation is Mount Vinson, however, the Vinson Massif with the 4897 meters. Westantarktika is drained primarily by ice streams such as Rutford, Bindschadler, Möller and Whillans ice stream - in the large ice shelves.

-79- 100Koordinaten: 79 ° 0 ' 0 " S, 100 ° 0' 0 " W

• Region in Antarctica