List of rivers of Antarctica

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/list-of-rivers-of-antarctica

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the location?Primarily coastal regions and ice-free oases like the Dry Valleys
2. What is the hydrological type?Predominantly ephemeral surface meltwater streams
3. What are Antarctica's secret rivers made of?They are meltwater streams, liquid water that forms when the ice melts. The water comes from the surface of the ice and snow when it gets warm enough.
4. Why do these rivers only appear in the summer?During the austral summer the sun shines brighter and the air is warmer, so the ice melts more. This meltwater creates the rivers that flow across the ice.

Cryosphere: All parts of Earth where water is in solid form (ice, snow, glaciers).
Surface Ablation: The loss of ice or snow from the surface of a glacier or ice sheet through melting and evaporation.
Ephemeral: Lasting for a very short time; transient or temporary.