General facts about antarctica, including geography, temperatures, and wildlife. Despite its massive size, antarctica has no. The antarctic ice sheet contains about 7.2 million cubic miles (30 million cubic kilometers) in an area just under.
Antarctica is the coldest, windiest and driest continent on earth. Our journalists will be sending regular dispatches as they head there with scientists trying to gauge the dangers. Antarctica covers the earth’s south pole.
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. It is almost completely covered in ice. Situated almost entirely south of the antarctic circle and surrounded by the southern ocean. It is the coldest, highest, driest and windiest continent on earth.
Visit the definitions and notes page to view a description of each topic. 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,. The continent’s ice is melting and raising sea levels worldwide.