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FOR KIDS: The oldest place on Earth
Antarctica may seem like the dead continent, but it once bustled with life, a little of which still survives
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Antarctica may seem like the dead continent, but it once bustled with life, a little of which still survives

By Douglas Fox

Web edition: June 15, 2012

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Antarctica's Friis Hills have changed very little in the past 20 million years, which makes it a prime place for scientists to search for fossils.

The Friis Hills in Antarctica are dead and dry, nothing but gravel and sand and boulders. The hills sit on a flattop mountain 60 kilometers from the coast. They are blasted by cold winds that scream off the Antarctic Ice Sheet 30 kilometers farther inland. The temperature here falls to -50° Celsius during winter, and rarely climbs above -5° in summer. But an unbelievable secret hides just below.

Visit the new Science News for Kids website and read the full story: The oldest place on Earth

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