Antarctica

The ice continent — the coldest place

Antarctica is completely covered in ice. It is the coldest, windiest and driest place on Earth. Nobody lives there permanently — only scientists work there for a while. But penguins love it! There are no bears in Antarctica — polar bears live at the North Pole.

Antarctica is the continent around the South Pole, 98% covered by an ice sheet averaging 1.9 km thick. This ice holds 70% of Earth's fresh water; if it all melted, sea level would rise 58 metres. Record low: −89.2 °C (Vostok Station, 1983). Technically Antarctica is a desert — very little precipitation falls. Under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty the continent is used only for science and belongs to no country. More than 400 lakes lie beneath the ice, the largest being Lake Vostok.

Fun facts

• Antarctica is the biggest desert in the world! A desert doesn't have to be hot — just dry.
• In summer the Sun doesn't set in Antarctica for 6 months, and in winter it doesn't rise for 6 months.
• Emperor penguins keep their egg warm on their feet at −60 °C.
• Scientists have found meteorites from Mars in Antarctica — dark rocks are easy to spot on white ice.