Blood Falls in Antarctica is red because iron-rich saltwater, trapped for millions of years beneath the Taylor Glacier, flows out and oxidizes upon contact with air, creating rust (iron(III) oxide), which stains the ice a deep crimson color, similar to how metal rusts. The high salt content keeps the water liquid, and microbes within it thrive on sulfates, releasing iron as a byproduct, according to research from Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
As the high-pressure environment beneath the glacier forces this iron-rich water to seep through fissures in the ice, it emerges into the open air, and upon contact with the frigid Antarctic atmosphere, the rapid oxidation gives rise to the blood-red coloration, leaving behind an otherworldly scene.
Due to harsh conditions, extreme weather, and no permanent population on the continent, there are no regular passenger flights to Antarctica. Most flights transport research personnel and supply the bases. In Antarctica, it is forbidden to take anything from the landscape. Rock, feather, bone, egg.
Eleven babies were born in Antarctica primarily as a symbolic move by Argentina and Chile in the late 1970s and 1980s to strengthen their territorial claims on the continent, a strategy involving flying pregnant women to their research bases like Esperanza Base and Villa Las Estrellas. These births, starting with Emilio Marcos Palma in 1978, were meant to assert continuous human presence and national commitment, although the Antarctic Treaty legally limits such claims, and the babies inherited their parents' nationalities.
Late March — NASA and NSIDC reports that in 2025, summer sea ice extent around Antarctica tied for the 2nd-lowest minimum ever recorded in the 47-year record of satellite measurements. Late March — A rare all-black melanistic gentoo penguin chick spotted on Rongé Island.
Why is this Antarctic Glacier “Bleeding?” | Antarctic Extremes
What covers 98% of Antarctica?
About 98% of Antarctica's surface is covered by the massive Antarctic ice sheet, a continental glacier containing about 90% of the world's ice, averaging over a mile thick in places and holding 70% of the planet's fresh water. The only ice-free areas are some coastal rocks, mountains (nunataks), and valleys like the McMurdo Dry Valleys, notes AntarcticGlaciers.org.
Blood Falls is truly one of the most exciting spots to visit in Antarctica, which is best visited by boat. It gets its name because it's a waterfall that happens to be a shockingly-bright red color, similar to blood.
In the following decades and century, humans explored the continent further, sometimes at the cost of their lives. Which is why it's so weird that, in the 1980s, a scientist discovered human remains in Antarctica of a young woman thought to have died between 1819 and 1825.
Antarctica is usually unoccupied except for scientists, wealthy tourists, and adventurers. Surprisingly, though, a small number of children have entered the world there. The exact figure is difficult to pin down. Some sources list 11 births, mostly at Argentina's Esperanza Base and Chile's Eduardo Frei Base.
Using an innovative blend of satellite data and physics, researchers have unveiled the most detailed map yet of Antarctica's hidden subglacial bedrock, revealing a world of mountains, valleys, and ancient riverbeds that were previously invisible to human eyes.
The Pacific Ocean may be full of mysteries, but one thing is clear: planes don't fly over the Pacific Ocean often for very good reasons. From curved routes that are actually shorter to safety rules, unpredictable weather, and fuel concerns, every flight path is carefully planned with your safety in mind.
The Face In The Desert (37.401573, -116.867808): A Creepy Google Earth Coordinate With Mysterious Origins. The Nevada desert in the United States has another creepy Google Earth coordinate. According to Google Earth satellite imagery, it appears that there is a human-like face etched into the landscape of the deserts.
A new map reveals the hidden landscape. The map reveals alpine-style valleys, deeply eroded troughs, flat lowlands and high-relief terrain buried under the ice. People on Earth know more about the surface of Mercury than what lies beneath Antarctica's massive ice sheets.
