31 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Antarctica - Atlas Obscura

Unusual
Attractions
in Antarctica

Blood Falls

Natural time capsule containing an alien ecosystem.

matthewwarrenlee

Added by matthewwarrenlee

Deception Island

An abandoned whaling station on an active volcano offers hot springs in Antarctica, surrounded by ruined giants of industry.

Added by cdebra

Mt. Erebus

Fire meets ice at the southernmost volcano on Earth.

Dylan

The Bar at Vernadsky Research Base

The world's southernmost bar.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

IceCube Research Station

The world's largest neutrino telescope searches for secrets of the universe at the South Pole.

Mark Casey

Added by Mark Casey

Antarctic Exploration Museum & Post Office

The best place to send your postcards home from Antarctica.

Annetta Black

Added by Annetta Black

The Ceremonial South Pole

Naked scientists race around the pole in the frigid cold to try to join Antarctica's exclusive 300 Club.

Kerry Wolfe

Added by Kerry Wolfe

Trinity Church on King George Island

Russian Orthodox church built on an Antarctic island.

stanestane

Added by stanestane

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dawnrfifer wants to go to IceCube Research Station

78parkwayeast has been to Lake Vostok

chipsichip wants to go to Blood Falls

alissamarierose

alissamarierose wants to go to Volcano Sponge of McMurdo Sound

tj000 wants to go to Discovery Hut

Stories
About Antarctica

A cosy sight: the entrance to the geodesic dome where the Club 90 South bar was originally located.

The Perils and Pleasures of Bartending in Antarctica

At the South Pole, the freezer is just a hole in the wall to the ice outside.

by Zoe Baillargeon

August 22, 2019

Getting to an answer involved collecting data with floating sensors that drifted beneath the ice.

What's Up With Those Deep Gashes in Antarctic Ice?

Researchers just got a closer look.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

Maskelyne's suit was both dapper and warm.

How to Dress Like an 18th-Century Astronomer

Eventually, quilted, glittering pajamas gave way to parkas and moon boots.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

The dome houses the satellite dish that provides Rothera's internet connection, which is one of its only links to civilization during winter months.

Researchers at This Base in Antarctica Eat Better Than You Do

And the chef does it with just one food shipment a year.

by Katie Thornton

A close-up view of the rift separating Pine Island Glacier and iceberg B-46, as seen on an Operation IceBridge flight on November 7, 2018.

This Glacier Is Losing Ice Faster Than Any Other in Antarctica

Pine Island Glacier calved icebergs in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018—and now, another one is getting ready to break free.

by Shaena Montanari

February 11, 2019

The WindSled underway.

A Team of Explorers and Scientists Traveled Through Antarctica—By Kite

Eco-friendly polar exploration on a WindSled.

by Evan Nicole Brown

February 05, 2019

<em>Apollo 15</em> astronaut David Scott sampled the lunar surface in 1971.

Humanity Has Managed to Change Places We've Barely Even Visited

From the Mariana Trench to the Moon, we don't have to be in a place very much to muck it up.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

January 04, 2019

At first, the message seemed to come out of nowhere.

The Remarkable Photo at the Heart of 'The White Darkness'

It shows a message, carved in ice, from one polar explorer to another.

November 01, 2018