Vostok Station

Vostok Station is a Russian research station in Antarctica. It is one of the coldest places on Earth. It is about 1,300 kilometres (810 miles) from the South Pole. It is very high up, at about 3,488 metres (11,444 feet) above sea level. This makes the air very thin and hard to breathe. The station is famous for its extremely low temperatures. On July 21, 1983, a temperature of -89.2 °C (-128.6 °F) was recorded here. This is the coldest temperature ever measured on Earth.

Scientists at Vostok Station study things like the climate, the Earth's magnetic field, and glaciology (the study of ice). They have drilled deep into the ice to get ice cores. These cores can tell us about the Earth's climate thousands of years ago.

Underneath the station is a big, freshwater lake called Lake Vostok. It is completely covered by a thick layer of ice. The lake is one of the largest in the world. Scientists think there might be unique life forms in the lake that have been cut off from the rest of the world for millions of years.

## History

Vostok Station was established by the Soviet Union on December 16, 1957. It was part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY), a scientific program that lasted from July 1957 to December 1958. During this time, scientists from many countries worked together to study the Earth. The station was temporarily closed from February 1994 to December 1995. Russia, which inherited the station from the Soviet Union, has operated it continuously since.

## Geography

Vostok Station is located in the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, a massive layer of ice covering most of the continent. It sits at the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility, which is the point on the Antarctic continent farthest from the sea. The station is about 1,300 km (810 miles) from the geographic South Pole. The elevation is very high, at about 3,488 meters (11,444 feet) above sea level, which means the air is very thin. Beneath the station is Lake Vostok, a huge freshwater lake that is completely covered by ice. It is one of the largest subglacial lakes in the world.

## Climate

Vostok Station is known for its extremely cold climate. It has an ice cap climate and it holds the record for the coldest temperature ever measured on Earth: -89.2 °C (-128.6 °F), recorded on July 21, 1983. The average temperature for the year is about -55 °C (-67 °F). Summer temperatures (December to February) can range from -21 °C to -45 °C (-6 °F to -49 °F), while winter temperatures (April to September) typically range from -60 °C to -80 °C (-76 °F to -112 °F). The station receives very little precipitation and experiences long periods of darkness during the winter.

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Vostok Station
- **native name**: станция Восток
- **native name lang**: ru
- **settlement type**: Research stations in Antarctica, Antarctic base
- **image skyline**: Vostok Station 2024.png
- **imagesize**: 300
- **image caption**: Vostok Station as of 2024
- **flag size**: 110px
- **flag border**: no
- **mapsize**: 270px
- **pushpin map**: Antarctica
- **pushpin map alt**: Location of Vostok Station in Antarctica
- **pushpin map caption**: Location of Vostok Station in Antarctica
- **pushpin mapsize**: 270
- **pushpin relief**: yes
- **established title**: Established
- **elevation m**: 3,488
- **population as of**: 2017
- **population blank1 title**: Summer
- **population blank1**: 30
- **population blank2 title**: Winter
- **population blank2**: 15
- **timezone1**: UTC+5
- **utc offset1**: +5