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 hundreds and thousands of years to form large, thick ice sheets. Antarctica's terrain is made up of glaciers, ice shelves and icebergs. 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,. General facts about antarctica, including geography, temperatures, and wildlife. Reissued a level 2 travel advisory for antarctica, urging visitors to exercise increased caution. Visit the definitions and notes page to view a description of each topic. It is almost completely covered in ice. Antarctica covers the earth’s south pole. Despite its massive size, antarctica has no.

Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm (8 in) along the coast and far less inland. 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, 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.

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