Where is Paradise Bay?

Paradise Bay is a sheltered bay on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, on the Danco Coast, surrounded by glaciers and mountains.

Which penguins live on the Antarctic Peninsula?

Mainly gentoo, Adélie and chinstrap penguins. Emperor penguins live farther south around the continent, and king penguins are found on sub-Antarctic islands.

No single country. Several countries have territorial claims, but under the Antarctic Treaty these are set aside, and the continent is reserved for peace and science.

How cold is Antarctica?

The interior is extremely cold, with a record low of −89.2 °C measured at Vostok Station. The Peninsula is much milder, often near freezing in summer.

Is Antarctica melting?

Parts of it are losing ice, especially in West Antarctica and on the Peninsula, where ice shelves have collapsed and glaciers retreated, contributing to sea-level rise.

Glaciers, icebergs and penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula

Antarctic coast

3D landscape · Paradise Bay, Antarctic Peninsula

Land here and explore →

Antarctica holds about 90 percent of the world's ice. Most of it is a vast, lifeless ice sheet, but its coasts, where the ice meets the Southern Ocean, are full of life in summer. In this app you can land on the shore of Paradise Bay on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula and explore it in interactive 3D: snowfields and rock outcrops, glacier fronts calving into calm water, and icebergs drifting in the bay below steep, ice-covered mountains.

Gentoo penguins waddle between their nesting colony and the water, Weddell seals lie on the shore, and kelp gulls wheel overhead. It is one of the most visited and photographed places in Antarctica, and one of the few where visitors can step onto the continent itself.

Key facts

Model setting: Paradise Bay, Antarctic PeninsulaA sheltered bay on the Danco Coast, around 64.8° S, ringed by glaciers
Antarctic ice sheet: About 90% of Earth's iceRoughly 70% of its fresh water; up to around 4.8 km thick
Coldest measured: −89.2 °CAt Vostok Station in 1983; satellites have found even colder surface spots
Peninsula summer: Often around 0 °CThe mildest part of Antarctica; temperatures can rise a few degrees above freezing
Antarctic Treaty: Signed 1959Reserves the continent for peace and science; mining is banned under its environmental protocol
Gentoo penguin: Fastest-swimming penguinCan reach around 35 km/h; numbers on the Peninsula have grown in recent decades
Weddell seal: Most southerly mammalLives around the continent all year and keeps breathing holes open in the sea ice
Antarctic krill: Hundreds of millions of tonnesSmall crustaceans at the centre of the Southern Ocean food web

The Antarctic Peninsula

The Antarctic Peninsula is a long, mountainous arm of the continent that reaches north towards South America, separated from Cape Horn by the roughly 1,000 km-wide Drake Passage. Its west coast is a maze of islands, channels and bays lined with glaciers, including the Gerlache Strait and Paradise Bay. Argentina's Almirante Brown station and Chile's González Videla station stand on its shores.

Paradise Bay was named by whalers for its sheltered waters and spectacular scenery. The surrounding mountains rise straight from the sea to well over a thousand metres, and their glaciers end in tall ice cliffs that regularly drop chunks of ice into the bay.

Ice sheets, glaciers and icebergs

Antarctica's ice sheet formed over millions of years from snow that never melted, compressing into ice that flows slowly towards the coasts. Where glaciers reach the sea, they calve icebergs, and in some places they float out as huge ice shelves. Icebergs come in many shapes; blue ice is dense, old glacier ice with few air bubbles, which absorbs red light and so looks blue.

Around the continent the sea freezes each winter, expanding the area covered by ice to around 18 million km² before most of it melts again in summer. This sea ice is a vital habitat for krill, seals and penguins.

Cold, wind and summer light

Antarctica is the coldest, windiest and highest continent on average. The interior is a polar desert, receiving very little snow. The Peninsula is much milder, with summer temperatures often around freezing and more snow and rain. In midsummer the Sun barely sets at Paradise Bay, while in midwinter there are only a few hours of daylight.

Penguins, seals and krill

Almost all Antarctic life depends on the sea. Antarctic krill, small shrimp-like crustaceans that graze on algae, including algae growing under sea ice, are eaten by penguins, seals, whales, fish and seabirds. Gentoo penguins build nests of pebbles on rocky ground and raise two chicks each summer. They are the fastest-swimming penguins and dive to catch krill and fish.

Weddell seals live farther south than any other mammal, using their teeth to keep breathing holes open through winter sea ice. Crabeater seals, leopard seals, humpback and minke whales, orcas, snow petrels, skuas, Antarctic shags and kelp gulls are also found around the Peninsula.

A continent for science

Antarctica has no permanent population and belongs to no single country. The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 set the continent aside for peaceful purposes and scientific research, and its Protocol on Environmental Protection of 1991 bans mining and sets strict rules for visitors. Tens of thousands of tourists visit each year, mostly by ship to the Peninsula, under guidelines designed to avoid disturbing wildlife.

A warming peninsula

The Antarctic Peninsula warmed rapidly during the second half of the 20th century, faster than most places on Earth at the time. Several ice shelves along its coasts, including parts of the Larsen Ice Shelf, have broken up, and many glaciers have retreated. Penguins have responded in different ways: ice-dependent Adélie and chinstrap penguins have declined in many areas, while gentoo penguins have spread and increased.

Antarctic sea ice reached record lows in 2023. Warming of the Southern Ocean and the loss of ice from Antarctica's ice sheets are among the most important uncertainties for future sea-level rise.

Surprising facts about Antarctic coast

Antarctica holds about 90 percent of all the ice on Earth.
Most of Antarctica is technically a desert, because so little snow falls in the interior.
Blue icebergs are made of very old, dense glacier ice with hardly any air bubbles.
Weddell seals scrape at the ice with their teeth to keep breathing holes open through winter.
The total weight of Antarctic krill may be greater than that of any other wild animal species on Earth.
Gentoo penguins are increasing on the Antarctic Peninsula while some other penguin species there are declining.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Paradise Bay?: Paradise Bay is a sheltered bay on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, on the Danco Coast, surrounded by glaciers and mountains.
Which penguins live on the Antarctic Peninsula?: Mainly gentoo, Adélie and chinstrap penguins. Emperor penguins live farther south around the continent, and king penguins are found on sub-Antarctic islands.
Who owns Antarctica?: No single country. Several countries have territorial claims, but under the Antarctic Treaty these are set aside, and the continent is reserved for peace and science.
How cold is Antarctica?: The interior is extremely cold, with a record low of −89.2 °C measured at Vostok Station. The Peninsula is much milder, often near freezing in summer.
Is Antarctica melting?: Parts of it are losing ice, especially in West Antarctica and on the Peninsula, where ice shelves have collapsed and glaciers retreated, contributing to sea-level rise.

Keep exploring

The landscapes in Ember’s Universe are procedural 3D scenes modelled on real places. The landforms, plants and light follow the real thing, but the details are generated, not mapped.

Sources