Map of Antartica
Although
Antarctica began icing about 45.5 million years ago, scientists have
only been able to extract samples dating 800,000 years old. The terrain
below Antarctica's ice sheet is mountainous – it has the highest average
elevation of any continent in the world at 2,500 meters.
The
Transantarctic Mountains, one of the longest mountain ranges on Earth,
bisects Antarctica. Some of its peaks have elevations higher than 4,500
meters above sea level and are ice-free. The Ellsworth Mountains to the
west of the Transantarctic range include Mount Vinson, the highest point
on the continent at 4,900 meters.
Volcanoes which are likely due
to the West Antarctic Rift System, exist under Antarctica's ice sheet.
These volcanoes, including Mount Erebus, exist where the Antarctic
tectonic plate is thinning. This is similar to the tectonic activity we
saw along the East African Rift. See Figure 10.13 to study the locations
of these features.
Figure 10.13 Map of Antarctica
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, http://lima.usgs.gov/documents/LIMA_overview_map.pdf
This work is in the Public Domain.