Antarctica, as you know, is the coldest and most severe continent of the planet. This is the only continent on which there is no permanent population. Nevertheless, tourists willingly come even here. One of the most famous sights of the "ice continent" is the so-called Bloody Waterfall. In Antarctica, it is with great pleasure that both travelers and scientists visit it.
Antarctica and tourism - things are incompatible?
The mainland in the extreme south of the Earth was discovered in 1820. The climate here is characterized by severity and minimal average annual air temperatures. Flora and fauna are limited, there is no permanent population.
The first sea cruises to Antarctica were made in the 1960s, sightseeing flights in the 1970s. Every year, the number of tourists who want to visit the coldest continent of the world is growing. In 2010, there were about 40,000.
Tourists in the Antarctic ski, snowshoe and even yachts, visit scientific stations and various natural sites. The main attractions of Antarctica :
- McMurdo Valley (the driest place on Earth) ;
- Bloody waterfall in Taylor Glacier;
- sunken yacht "Endless Sea";
- Bouvet Island is one of the most severe and unattractive places in Antarctica;
- Queen Maud Land with its numerous and sharp rocky ledges - nunataki;
- Deception Island - a former volcano;
- unusually picturesque strait of Lemaire;
- peaks of Unas-Tits and others.
Without a doubt, one of the most interesting and visited places on the mainland is Bloody Waterfall. Antarctica is also very fond of visiting research stations. The most popular tourist destinations are Amundsen-Scott (USA), Maitri (India), Novolazarevskaya (Russia), and Akademik Vernadsky (Ukraine).
Bloody waterfall in Antarctica: description, discovery and scientific significance
Does life exist in massive strata of Antarctic ice? As it turned out, it exists. And proof of this is the Taylor Glacier - a unique natural formation in the eastern part of Antarctica. Its length is 54 kilometers. The glacier was discovered at the beginning of the last century.
It is here that the so-called Bloody Waterfall is located. In Antarctica, this place is of great interest not only to tourists, but also to biological scientists. It turned out that in this place, under a 400-meter layer of ice, without access to light and air, bacteria live quietly. This discovery helped scientists get a lot of answers, but at the same time posed a large number of new questions.
The Bloody Waterfall was discovered and described by geologist Griffith Taylor back in 1911. It really looks very impressive: dozens of bright red streams flowing from the white thickness of the glacier. The source of the waterfall is an underground salt lake, blocked from above by ice. The unique color of water in it, scientists explain the high content of iron oxides.
Bloody Waterfall: Travel Tips
The facility is confined to the Taylor Glacier and is located within the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Tourists can visit it only during the Antarctic summer (November-February). At this time, the air here “warms up” to –5 ... –10 Celsius.
Closest to Bloody Waterfall are Australia and New Zealand. It is from these countries that most of the Antarctic tours to this natural miracle begin. Tourists to the Bloody Waterfall are also transported from South Africa, Chile or Argentina. Such a tour will cost a traveler a substantial amount: from 300 thousand to one and a half million Russian rubles.