How can there be such a thing as East Antarctica?

Answer 1

Technically, there can't. The entire coastline of Antarctica faces north, because the South pole is located within the continent.

On Antarctica, east and west make circles that don't leave the continent. (at high enough latitudes, the circles would cross some beaches due to the fact that the continent isn't a perfect circle, so certain spots of the coastline would face east or west, but the general facing of the coastline is N) You could arbitrarily pick somewhere, such as the part of the coastline at longitude 90 degrees east, but it's no more "east" than anywhere else.

Answer 2

Away from the South Pole, there is an East - and that is defined by the lines of longitude. So Antarctica beneath the Indian Ocean would be East Antarctica and Antarctica beneath South America would be West Antarctica.

Answer 3

How about there is and there isn't.

In a relative sense, there is an "East Antarctica" based on the fact that the planet has eastern and western hemispheres and parts of Antarctica reside in each of those hemispheres.

However, when you are "on the ground" in Antarctica, east is an entirely relative concept being that everything is typically north or south.

Answer 4

Half of the continent is in the easter hemisphere, so I suppose you could define that part as "east antarctica"

However, antarctica has no easternmost or westernost extremity like the other continents do. Antactica is more or less round, centered on the south pole. If you are on the coast you can walk east indefinitely, just by walking around the edge of the continent over and over counterclockwise (with the pole to your left and the sea to your right).

Answer 5

I have to agree with the tone of your question. Sometimes people forget things, such as where they are. If you really think about it, while in Antarctica you can only go SOUTH or NORTH. Talking about east or west, in that place, just doesn't make any sense to me.

Answer 6

Presumably everything east of the pole is
East Antarctica. The only directional
anomaly is the pole itself. Antarctica
is a rather large island continent.