Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest …

3 days ago · The southernmost parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans meet the Southern (or Antarctic) Ocean, the cold oceanic water mass below 60° S with unique biological and physical …

Antarctica is the only continent with no permanent human habitation. There are, however, permanent human settlements, where scientists and support staff live for part of the year on a rotating basis. …

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 1.5 times...

Jun 16, 2025 · In this guide, we serve up a cliff-notes sort of sketch of the White Continent (as Antarctica’s often called), and also provide a slew of links to more in-depth articles on specific topics, …

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 builds up over …

Dec 7, 2025 · Visit the Definitions and Notes page to view a description of each topic.

Antarctica is the southernmost continent in the world, surrounded by the Southern Ocean. Antarctic terrestrial and marine communities are sensitive to climate and environmental change.

Situated in the southern hemisphere and largely south of the Antarctic Circle, Antarctica is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14.4 million km², it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, …

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 …