Antarctica

Where it is

Antarctica is the continent that surrounds the South Pole. It lies mostly south of the Antarctic Circle, at about 66.5° south latitude, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean, which separates it from South America, Africa and Oceania.

The closest point of land to another continent is the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, about 1,000 kilometers from Cape Horn, at the southern end of South America. Between them lies the Drake Passage, one of the stormiest seas on the planet.

There are no cities, roads or borders in Antarctica. Geographers divide the continent into East Antarctica, larger and higher, and West Antarctica, separated by the Transantarctic Mountains, as shown in Geography of Antarctica.

Size and ice

With nearly 14 million km², counting islands and the ice shelves that float along the coast, Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent. It is almost twice the size of Australia and larger than Europe.

Less than 1% of the surface is ice-free. The rest is covered by an ice sheet with an average thickness of about 1.9 kilometers and, in the deepest places, more than 4.7 kilometers. According to the Bedmap3 mapping of 2025, there are roughly 27 million km³ of ice.

If all that ice melted, global sea level would rise by about 58 meters. It is the largest reserve of fresh water on Earth. How the ice forms, moves and preserves past climate is explained in The Ice of Antarctica.

Cold, wind and dryness

On average, Antarctica is the coldest, driest and windiest continent and has the highest mean elevation on Earth. The world record for cold, −89.2 °C, was recorded at the Russian Vostok station on the plateau on a day in July 1983.

In the interior, annual snowfall is equivalent to only a few centimeters of rain, which makes the plateau a polar desert. On the coast, the cold air descending from the plateau creates winds that can exceed 200 km/h.

The Antarctic Peninsula, farther north and surrounded by sea, is the least cold part: in summer temperatures are often near 0 °C. Records, katabatic winds and the Dry Valleys are discussed in Climate of Antarctica.

Who lives in Antarctica

Antarctica has no indigenous population or permanent residents. Those present work at research stations maintained by more than 30 countries: about 70 stations, more than half of them open year-round.

In summer, between October and March, some 4,000 to 5,000 people are on the continent, including scientists, technicians, pilots, cooks and maintenance crews. In winter, when most stations close and access becomes almost impossible, the number falls to about one thousand.

The largest station is McMurdo, operated by the United States on Ross Island. How people live and conduct research at these bases is covered in Science and Stations, and Brazil’s presence, with Comandante Ferraz Station, is in Brazil in Antarctica.

Who governs it

No country governs Antarctica. The continent is regulated by the Antarctic Treaty, signed in Washington in 1959 by 12 countries and in force since 1961. The treaty applies to all areas south of 60° south latitude.

The treaty reserves Antarctica for peaceful purposes and for science, prohibits military bases and nuclear tests, and guarantees freedom of research. Seven countries had claimed parts of the continent before 1959; the treaty froze those claims, neither accepting nor rejecting them.

There are 58 parties to the treaty. The 29 consultative parties, which conduct significant research on the continent, make decisions by consensus at the annual meeting. The 1991 Madrid Protocol bans mining. Details are in The Antarctic Treaty.

Key numbers

Area: about 14 million km². Ice: about 27 million km³, with an average thickness near 1.9 kilometers. Highest point: Mount Vinson, at 4,892 meters.

Lowest temperature measured on land: −89.2 °C at Vostok in 1983. Highest on the continent and nearby islands: 18.3 °C at the Argentine base Esperanza on February 6, 2020, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

People: about one thousand in winter and 4,000–5,000 in summer. Elevation of the geographic South Pole: 2,835 meters, almost all ice. Treaty: signed in 1959, with 58 parties.

What each page contains

Geography of Antarctica presents the two parts of the continent, the mountains, the seas, the islands, the poles and the Southern Ocean. The Ice of Antarctica explains the ice sheet, ice shelves, glaciers, icebergs, subglacial lakes and sea ice. Climate of Antarctica covers the cold, the wind, the dryness and the seasons.

Light and sky in Antarctica explains the midnight sun, the polar night, the austral aurora and the plateau’s observatories. Life in Antarctica covers krill, penguins, seals, whales, birds, fish, plants and microbes. History and exploration tells of early maps, the race to the South Pole and the International Geophysical Year.

The Antarctic Treaty details the continent’s rules. Science and Stations shows what is researched and how people live at the bases. Brazil in Antarctica presents PROANTAR and Comandante Ferraz Station. Antarctica and Earth’s climate treats melting, sea level and the ozone layer. Tourism in Antarctica explains who visits, when and under which rules.