Antarctica/Exploration ICEBLOCK/Getting to know Antarctica/Ecoregions in Antarctica

The red area shows the Ecoregion where life exits on the Antarctic continent. Why do you think the Ecoregion is confined mainly to this peninsula area?

With the richness of the Southern Ocean, the coasts of Antarctica and the Southern islands have relatively large numbers and many different kinds of animals, in the form of numerous sea birds (such as penguins) and mammals (such as seals and sea lions) - mostly around the Antarctic peninsula - in the Marielandia Arctic Tundra ecoregion (see map above). In contrast - the inland of the Antarctic continent are a cold, windy and inhospitable desert with virtually no life at all! WOW, what would that have been like for the Polar Explorers crossing Antarctica?