Thompson Island (Thompson Island)
Thompson Island (-66°N, 110.11667°W) is the largest and northeasternmost of the Balaena Islands, situated about 1/2 nmi from the coast of Antarctica and 15 nmi northeast of the Windmill Islands. The island consists of two rocky knolls separated by a low saddle of snow (it may actually be two islands connected by ice). This feature was first photographed from aircraft of U.S. Navy Operation Highjump in February 1947, and was mapped from that photography by Gardner Blodgett in 1955. It was visited by a party of the ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions) on January 19, 1956, and named for Richard Thompson, Administrative Officer, Antarctic Division, Melbourne, who was second-in-command for several years of ANARE relief expeditions to Heard Island, Macquarie Island and Mawson Station.
* List of antarctic and sub-antarctic islands
* List of antarctic and sub-antarctic islands
Map - Thompson Island (Thompson Island)
Map
Country - Antarctica
Antarctica is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than Europe, and has an area of 14200000 km2. Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9 km.
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 m. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 C. The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 C in summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 m. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 C. The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 C in summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.