A short lesson of antarctic toponymy

Antarctica has drammatically changed in the last 5 million of years, climatically but also geographically. The retreat of the ice in now showing again the true complex geography of the continent, which is subdivided in a large continental part called Neopolarica and a multitude of islands. Among these islands, we see the return of two familiar names: 

• Boitomb Island, a large island found in the southernmost part of Antarctica, now characterized by a very cold tundra or ice cap climate.

• The Sparso Archipelago, a gigantic island system found in the southern part of the antarctic peninsula, with a more temperate oceanic climate.

Despite the raise of sea level, the current situation didn't allow the flood of the Great Depresseaon, which remain completely emerged.
Although being still a depression, glacial deposits have now completely leveled out this bioregion. While in the Biancocene the Great Depresseaon had large steep areas as deep as one kilometer, now its lowest point is around just 400 meters. Most of the bioregion look as a monotonous plain, rarely alternated with small hills, a remembrance of the past Centro Island. It's by far one of the currently most productive areas, thanks to its mosaic landscape, composed of large gallery forests and forested savannas, and because of its semi-isolated condition, being completely surrounded by mountain ranges, creating a drier environment that favors the expansion of grasslands. Large endorheic lakes are present, which change in size depending on the season. Abundant precipitations are particularly prevented because of the creation of the Northern Cordillera, derived from the Fire Bridge, a volcanic mountain range resulted by the subduction of the Sedia microplate under the Antarctic plate. While not as high as other antarctic  mountain regions, it completely block the arrival of humid airs from north, resulting in halved precipitations in the Great Depreasseaon compared to other near areas.
Near the Sparso Archipelago, another familiar name have reappeared from the retreating ice: the Incenso Saltlake. Similarly to the Great Depreasseaon, this smaller depression has drastically reduced, with the former lake being just 30 meters deep rich in salty dampy areas. Similarly to the past, salinity change depending on the river intake, but the cold climate and high river affluence make this saltlake less salty and more brackish. The resulting aquatic fauna and flora is then similar to the one found in the surrounding coastal areas.

Except from the new Northern Cordillera, other "old" mountain ranges are still present, like the ones listed below:

• The Peninsular Alps: this mountain region is the longest of the continent and because of its latitudinal development it has a very diverse climate range, from the temperate warm areas in the north, to the barren ice cap of south. Although not being found anymore in a peninsular environment, it has maintained its original name. On the western part of it, a long and narrow plateau forms, named the Strip Plateau. This planitial areas strip from the barren tundra in the south to the warm and lush forests in the north.

• The Transantarctic mountains: they are the geological continuum of the Peninsular Alps. It's less elevated although, with no mountains higher than 2000 meters. It has a frigid environment, with a completely inhospitable environment in the southern part.

• The Central Massif: this compact mountain range togehter with the Transantarctic mountains separates the Great Depreasseaon from the Southern Lowlands. Its mountains are on average smaller than the one of the Transantarctic mountains, but the compactness of the range creates a homogeneous and much more isolated environment. 

• Greater and Lesser Lorentia: this large mountain range is climatically separated in two parts: the Greater Lorentia because of its continental status, is colder, while the Lesser Lorentia is influenced by oceanic currents, giving much more milder temperatures. Between the two ranges, a hilly areas which was once the Half Plateau is found. Thanks to the cold influence of Lorentia and its somewhat higher altitude, it has a much more temperate environment compared to the near lowlands, like the Amery Plateau.