Location: continent mostly south of the Antarctic Circle

Geographic coordinates: 90° 00' S, 0° 00 E

Area:
>> total area: 14 million sq km or 5.4 million sq mi (est.)
>> land area: 14 million sq km or 5.4 million sq mi (est.)
>> comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the United States
>> note: second-smallest continent (after Australia)

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 17,968 km

Maritime claims: none

Disputes--international: Antarctic Treaty defers claims; sections (some overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France (Adelie Land), New Zealand (Ross Dependency), Norway (Queen Maud Land) and United Kingdom. The United States and most other nations do not recognize the territorial claims of other nations and have made no claims themselves (the U.S. reserves the right to do so). No formal claims have been made in the sector between 90° W and 150° W.

Climate: Severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation and distance from the ocean. East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation. The Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate. Higher temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing.

Terrain: About 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to about 5,000 meters. Ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound. Glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent.
>> lowest point: Indian Ocean, 0 meters
>> highest point: Vinson Massif, 5,140 meters

Natural resources: None presently exploited. Iron ore, chromium, copper, gold, nickel, platinum and other minerals, and coal and hydrocarbons have been found in small, uncommercial quantities.

Land use:
>> arable land: 0%
>> permanent crops: 0%
>> meadows and pastures: 0%
>> forest and woodland: 0%
>> other: 100% (ice 98%, barren rock 2%)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
>> current issues: In 1998, NASA satellite data showed that the Antarctic ozone hole was the largest on record, covering 27 million square kilometers. Researchers in 1997 found that increased ultraviolet light coming through the hole damages the DNA of icefish, an Antarctic fish lacking hemoglobin. Ozone depletion earlier was shown to harm one-celled Antarctic marine plants.
>> natural hazards: Katabatic (gravity-driven) winds blow coastward from the high interior. Frequent blizzards form near the foot of the plateau. Cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise along the coast. Active volcanoes exist on Deception Island and isolated areas of West Antarctica, but other seismic activity is rare and weak.

Geographic note: Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, highest and driest continent. Dduring summer, more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South Pole than is received at the Equator in an equivalent period. The continent is mostly uninhabitable.