Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent on average, and 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. 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. Antarctica explained—fast facts, record cold, ice trends, wildlife, and how the Antarctic Treaty protects a continent devoted to peace and science. 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, known as Greater Antarctica. Antarctica is the Earth 's southernmost and the continent with the least people. It is on the South Pole. It is almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle. Around Antarctica is the Southern Ocean. It is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. [2]. About 99% of Antarctica is covered by ice. Essential Antarctica facts: geography, record climate, who owns it, the Antarctic Treaty, heroic-age history and how you can visit the white continent. It is diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. By another definition, the Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau, and other island territories located on the Antarctic Plate or south of the Antarctic Convergence. A guide to Antarctica including a map of Antarctica and facts and information about Antarctica and the Antarctic circle. 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. Join the animals racing to the very end of the Earth to make the most of the short Antarctic summer..