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

Unusual
Attractions
in Antarctica

Blood Falls

Natural time capsule containing an alien ecosystem.

Deception Island

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

Mt. Erebus

Fire meets ice at the southernmost volcano on Earth.

The Bar at Vernadsky Research Base

The world's southernmost bar.

IceCube Research Station

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

Antarctic Exploration Museum & Post Office

The best place to send your postcards home from Antarctica.

The Ceremonial South Pole

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

Trinity Church on King George Island

Russian Orthodox church built on an Antarctic island.

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Stories
About Antarctica

The Dry Valleys are vast, with much less ice.

If You Look Very, Very Close, Antarctica Is Teeming With Life

Meet the icy continent's menagerie of microbes.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

January 17, 2020

Antarctica is always cold, and for much of the year, it's really dark, too.

Antarctica Is Stark, Beautiful, and Will Shrink Your Brain

The impact of 14 months at the edge of the world.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

December 13, 2019

Whale fat was widely used to wage war⁠—and make margarine.

Hitler’s Secret Antarctic Expedition for Whales

Whales meant margarine, and margarine meant victory.

November 6, 2019

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