Antarctica is the coldest continent on Earth! It sits at the very bottom of the globe, around the South Pole. The temperature there can drop to minus 128 degrees Fahrenheit, which is much colder than the inside of your freezer at home. No countries own Antarctica, and no one lives there all the time, but scientists visit to study this icy land!
Almost all of Antarctica is covered in a thick sheet of ice! In some places, the ice is almost 3 miles deep. It is also the windiest and driest continent on Earth. Even though it is covered in ice, Antarctica is actually a desert because it gets very little rain or snow. In winter, it stays dark all day long, and in summer, the sun never sets!
Penguins, seals, and whales live near the coast of Antarctica! The Emperor penguin is the tallest penguin in the world and only breeds in Antarctica. Leopard seals swim in the icy water and hunt for fish and penguins. Very few animals can survive far inland because it is too cold and windy. Tiny creatures called tardigrades can survive the freezing temperatures because they are some of the toughest animals on Earth!
Antarctica holds about 70 percent of all the fresh water on Earth, locked up in its ice! About 1,000 to 5,000 scientists stay at research stations there depending on the season. If all the ice in Antarctica melted, the oceans would rise by about 200 feet. Antarctica is the only continent with no permanent human residents and no countries!
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