Antarctica is the continent around the South Pole and the fifth largest, about 14.2 million km². About 98% of it is covered by an ice sheet averaging 1,800 m thick. It is the coldest, windiest, driest and highest continent. Nobody lives there permanently, and the Antarctic Treaty keeps it for peace and science.
Antarctica quick facts
- About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice.
- The lowest temperature ever recorded by a weather station, −89.2°C, was at Vostok Station.
- If all Antarctica’s ice melted, sea levels would rise about 58 m.
- Antarctica is a desert, the driest continent on Earth.
- The Antarctic Treaty was signed on 1 December 1959 by 12 countries.
What is Antarctica?
Antarctica is the continent at the bottom of the world. It lies almost right around the South Pole, surrounded by the Southern Ocean.
It is the fifth-largest of the seven continents, about 14.2 million km² (5.5 million square miles). That is bigger than Europe and almost twice the size of Australia.
Its name means “opposite to the Arctic”. The Arctic is at the top of the world, and Antarctica is at the bottom.
Encyclopaedia Britannica calls Antarctica a continent of superlatives. It is the coldest, windiest, driest, highest and iciest continent on Earth.
| Antarctica at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Size | about 14.2 million km² (5.5 million square miles) |
| Covered by ice | about 98% of the land |
| Average ice thickness | about 1,800 m |
| Thickest ice | nearly 4.8 km |
| Permanent residents | none |
| Antarctic Treaty signed | 1 December 1959 |
A continent of ice
Almost the whole of Antarctica, about 98% of its land, is buried under a vast sheet of ice. On average the ice is about 1,800 m (5,900 feet) thick. At its thickest, it is nearly 4.8 km (3 miles) deep.
The ice sheet holds about 27 million cubic kilometres of ice, according to the most detailed survey yet, published in 2025. Britannica says that is about 90% of all the ice in the world.
If all of Antarctica’s ice melted, the world’s oceans would rise by about 58 m (190 feet). Together with the ice of Greenland, it holds more than two thirds of all the fresh water on Earth.
Around the coast, the ice flows out over the sea to form floating ice shelves. The largest are the Ross Ice Shelf and the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. Huge chunks break off their edges and float away as icebergs.
The shape of Antarctica
Antarctica is roughly round, except for a long, curving arm called the Antarctic Peninsula. It reaches up towards the tip of South America, about 970 km (600 miles) away.
Two great bays, the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea, cut into the continent. They divide it into two unequal parts: East Antarctica, which is bigger and mostly a high, icy plateau, and West Antarctica, which is an ice sheet covering a group of mountainous islands.
Between them runs a mountain range about 3,400 km (2,100 miles) long, the Transantarctic Mountains.
The Shape of Antarctica
- Antarctic Peninsula — A long, curving arm reaching towards South America
- Ross Sea and Weddell Sea — Two great bays cutting into the continent
- East Antarctica — The bigger part, mostly a high, icy plateau
- West Antarctica — An ice sheet covering a group of mountainous islands
- Transantarctic Mountains — A range about 3,400 km long between the two parts
The coldest place on Earth
Antarctica is bitterly cold. The lowest temperature ever measured by a weather station, −89.2°C, was recorded at Russia’s Vostok Station, high on the East Antarctic ice sheet, in 1983.
It is also extremely windy. Cold, heavy air rolls down off the high ice sheet towards the coast, creating powerful winds.
Scientists who work outside wear many layers of clothing, thick gloves and boots, and cover every bit of skin, because frostbite can strike within minutes. Even in summer, most of the continent stays below freezing.
And surprisingly, Antarctica is a desert. Deserts are places with very little rain or snow, not just hot, sandy places. So little snow falls on the inland ice that Antarctica is the driest continent on Earth.
Months of light and dark
Because Antarctica is so far south, its seasons are extreme. In midsummer, around December, the Sun does not set for weeks near the South Pole. In midwinter, around June, it does not rise at all.
That means scientists working there may have months of daylight in summer, and months of darkness in winter.
Life in Antarctica
On land, very little can survive the cold and dryness. More than a thousand kinds of living things have been found on the land, but most of them are tiny microorganisms. Mosses, lichens and a few small plants grow on the coasts and islands.
The sea is a different story. The Southern Ocean is as rich in life as the land is bare. It is full of tiny shrimp-like animals called krill, which feed fish, penguins, seals and great whales.
Seals, such as the crabeater seal, rest on the sea ice. Seabirds nest on the coasts. And emperor penguins even breed on the sea ice through the dark Antarctic winter.
Life on the Ice and in the Sea
- Krill — Tiny shrimp-like animals that feed fish, penguins, seals and whales
- Emperor penguins — Breed on the sea ice through the dark winter
- Crabeater seals — Rest on the sea ice
- Mosses and lichens — Grow on the coasts and islands
- Microorganisms — Most of the thousand-plus kinds of life found on land
The race to the South Pole
For centuries, nobody had ever seen Antarctica. It was one of the last places on Earth to be explored.
In the early 1900s, explorers from several countries raced to be the first to reach the South Pole. The Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team got there first, on 14 December 1911.
A British team led by Robert Falcon Scott arrived about five weeks later, in January 1912, only to find Amundsen’s tent and flag already there. Scott and his companions died on the journey back.
Today, the United States runs a research station at the South Pole itself, where scientists live and work all year round.
People in Antarctica
Nobody lives in Antarctica all the time, and no country owns it outright. It is shared under an agreement called the Antarctic Treaty. There are no towns, no farms and no native people.
From the late 1700s to the mid-1900s, whalers and sealers sailed the seas around Antarctica, hunting whales and seals. Explorers raced to reach the South Pole in the early 1900s.
Today, the people who spend time there are mostly scientists and the staff who support them, living at research stations. Some tourists visit too, mainly on ships that travel to the Antarctic Peninsula in summer. Some old huts and bases from earlier expeditions are now protected as historic sites. Wordie House, a small British base hut from the 1940s on an island off the Antarctic Peninsula, is one of them.
Scientists study everything from penguins and ice to the air and space. Tiny bubbles of old air trapped deep in the ice can show what Earth’s climate was like hundreds of thousands of years ago.
A continent for peace and science
Antarctica does not belong to any one country. Seven countries, including Australia, France and the United Kingdom, claim parts of it, but these claims have been put on hold.
On 1 December 1959, twelve countries signed the Antarctic Treaty. It came into force in 1961, and today 58 countries have joined.
The treaty says that Antarctica must be used for peaceful purposes only. Scientists are free to study anywhere, and they must share what they discover. Every station is open to inspection, and no new claims to land can be made.
In 1991, another agreement, the Madrid Protocol, banned mining in Antarctica and made the whole continent a natural reserve.
What scientists discover in Antarctica
Antarctica is one of the best places on Earth for science.
Its ice holds a record of the past. As snow piles up year after year, it traps tiny bubbles of air. By drilling long cores of ice and studying the bubbles, scientists can find out what the air and climate were like hundreds of thousands of years ago.
In 1985, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey discovered that the ozone layer, which protects Earth from the Sun’s harmful rays, was getting very thin over Antarctica every spring. This “ozone hole” led countries to agree to ban the chemicals that were causing it.
The clear, dry air also makes Antarctica a good place for telescopes. And meteorites, rocks from space, are easy to spot lying on the white ice, so thousands have been collected there.
Antarctica’s Story in Order
- Whalers and sealers Ships start hunting whales and seals in the seas around Antarctica.
- First to the Pole Roald Amundsen's Norwegian team reaches the South Pole.
- Scott's team Robert Falcon Scott's British team reaches the Pole and finds Amundsen's tent.
- The treaty Twelve countries sign the Antarctic Treaty.
- The ozone hole Scientists find the ozone layer thinning over Antarctica each spring.
- No mining A new agreement bans mining and makes Antarctica a natural reserve.
Antarctica and our changing climate
Antarctica matters to everyone on Earth, even people who will never go there. Its ice holds so much water that even a small amount of melting can raise sea levels around the world.
Scientists watch the ice closely, using satellites and research stations, to understand how it is changing as the planet warms.
Three things people get wrong
Antarctica is not the same as the Arctic. The Arctic is mostly frozen ocean at the top of the world. Antarctica is a continent of land and ice at the bottom.
Deserts are not always hot. Antarctica gets so little snow that it is the driest continent, making it a cold desert.
Polar bears do not live in Antarctica. They live in the Arctic. Antarctica has penguins, seals and whales, but no polar bears.
Did you know? Antarctica’s ice sheet holds about 90% of all the ice in the world.
Antarctica: Fact or Myth?
- Polar bears live in Antarctica.
- The Southern Ocean is much richer in life than Antarctica's land.
- Antarctica is mostly frozen ocean, just like the Arctic.
- Meteorites are easy to spot lying on Antarctica's white ice.
- Antarctica has towns, farms and native people.
- Seven countries claim parts of Antarctica, but their claims are on hold.
- Near the South Pole, the Sun rises and sets every day of the year.
- Even in summer, most of Antarctica stays below freezing.
Try it
Find Antarctica on a globe. Then find the Arctic at the top. Notice how one is land surrounded by ocean and the other is ocean surrounded by land.
Knowledge check
Why is Antarctica called a desert?
Show answer
Because so little snow falls there that it is the driest continent.
What does the Antarctic Treaty say Antarctica must be used for?
Show answer
Peaceful purposes and science.
Frequently asked questions
How big is Antarctica?
Antarctica is about 14.2 million km² (5.5 million square miles), making it the fifth-largest continent. About 98% of it is covered by ice.
How cold is Antarctica?
Antarctica is the coldest continent. The lowest temperature ever recorded by a weather station, −89.2°C, was measured at Vostok Station on the East Antarctic ice sheet in 1983.
How thick is the ice in Antarctica?
The Antarctic ice sheet is about 1,800 metres thick on average and nearly 4.8 km thick at its deepest point.
Does anyone live in Antarctica?
No one lives in Antarctica permanently. Scientists and support staff live at research stations for months at a time, and tourists visit in summer.
What animals live in Antarctica?
Antarctica’s animals include penguins such as emperor penguins, seals, seabirds, whales, fish and krill. Most live in or near the sea, which is far richer in life than the land.
What is the Antarctic Treaty?
The Antarctic Treaty was signed by 12 countries on 1 December 1959 and now has 58 members. It keeps Antarctica for peaceful purposes and science and puts land claims on hold.
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Antarctica — size, ice cover, shape, regions, ice shelves, life, human history and the treaty
- National Snow and Ice Data Center: ice sheet quick facts — the size of the Antarctic ice sheet, how much seas would rise if it melted, and how much of Earth’s fresh water it holds with Greenland
- Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty: the Antarctic Treaty — when it was signed and came into force, how many countries have joined and its main rules
- Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research: Bedmap3 — the 2025 survey of the ice sheet’s thickness and volume, led by the British Antarctic Survey.
Antarctica Final Challenge
- What does the name Antarctica mean?
- About how much of Antarctica's land is covered by ice?
- If all of Antarctica's ice melted, about how much would the world's oceans rise?
- What is the lowest temperature ever measured by a weather station?
- Why is Antarctica so windy?
- Why is Antarctica a good place for telescopes?
- What can tiny bubbles of old air trapped in the ice show scientists?
- Why does Antarctica's ice matter to people who will never go there?
