A guide to antarctica including a map of antarctica and facts and information about antarctica and the antarctic circle. 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. West antarctica lies directly south of the south american continent and includes the antarctic peninsula, which extends farther north than any other part of the continent.
Antarctica covers the earth’s 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. 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,.
Antarctica is generally described as having two parts, west antarctica and east antarctica. Though now almost fully covered by ice, antarctica once hosted lush forests and a plethora of wildlife—including dinosaurs. Visit the definitions and notes page to view a description of each topic.