Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9 km (1.2 mi). Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and has the …

Jan 5, 2026 · Antarctica, the world’s southernmost continent, is almost wholly covered by an ice sheet and is about 5.5 million square miles (14.2 million square km) in size.

Without any ice, Antarctica would emerge as a giant peninsula and archipelago of mountainous islands, known as Lesser Antarctica, and a single large landmass about the size of Australia, …

Sep 25, 2025 · Though Antarctica is really, really chilly, it is considered a desert because it receives very little rain or snowfall. The small amount of snow that does fall does not melt but …

Antarctica is Earth’s southernmost continent, covering an area of 13.72 million square kilometers, making it the fifth-largest continent by land area. Despite its massive size, Antarctica has no …

Antarctica is a place of extremes. It is the coldest, highest, driest and windiest continent on Earth. This factsheet gives fascinating details of Antarctica’s geographical statistics – its area, length, …

Jan 5, 2026 · Visit the Definitions and Notes page to view a description of each topic.

Apr 17, 2025 · Antarctica is the coldest, windiest and driest continent on Earth. The Antarctic ice sheet contains about 7.2 million cubic miles (30 million cubic kilometers) in an area just under …

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, i...

Dec 24, 2025 · To get to the fastest-melting glacier in Antarctica, flying on a helicopter over icy seas is mandatory. Our climate reporter Raymond Zhong learns what to do in case of a …