Antarctica has been an object of fascination since it was first discovered by explorers in the early 19th century.

Despite never having had a permanent human population, or as far as we know even a temporary population,

Antarctica does have a history.

Perhaps not as long and rich a history as Africa or Asia, but a history nonetheless.

Learn more about the history of the Seventh Continent at the bottom of the world

on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by G Adventures. One of my most memorable moments traveling was getting to visit Antarctica. It was an epic journey that took me to the

Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island, and Antarctica itself. Like thousands of other travelers,

I went to Antarctica on the MS Expedition with G Adventures. It was an experience I still

talk about to this day. There is nothing quite like the sight, sound, and smell of

landing on a beach with a quarter million penguins. If you'd like to plan your dream trip to Antarctica,

go to everything-de-everware.com slash G-adventures,

or click on the link in the show notes.

The history of Antarctica goes back 175 million years

when the Pangea supercontinent broke up

and the landmass which became Antarctica

separated from its neighbors Africa, India, and Australia.

At that point, there were actually animals and plants on the land we call Antarctica,

but it also wasn't at the bottom of the world this time either.

Slowly, over millions of years as Antarctica

began to shift south, temperatures dropped and precipitation piled up. Whatever plants and animals

which existed on the landmass died as things got colder and light during the winters disappeared.

As things got colder, the snow and ice began to pile up, seriously pile up.

...