Map of Antarctica
Antarctica is a country in Antarctica, home to about 5,000 people across 13.72M km². The interactive map below plots 40 cities and towns, 22 mountain summits and 6 ports recorded for Antarctica in YearMaps.
- Population
- 5,000
- Area
- 13.72M km²
- Continent
- Antarctica
Interactive Map of Antarctica
Centred on Antarctica at 77.7323° S, 166.8694° E. Use the layer panel to switch on rivers, dams, ports, peaks and historical borders.
About Antarctica
Antarctica ( ) is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. 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 is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than Europe, and has an area of 14,200,000 km2 (5,500,000 sq mi). Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9 km (1.2 mi).
Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, 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. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global sea levels by almost 60 metres (200 ft). Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F). The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 °C (50 °F) in the summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Where vegetation occurs, it is mostly in the form of lichen or moss.
The ice shelves of Antarctica were probably first seen in 1820, during a Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. The decades that followed saw further exploration by French, American, and British expeditions. The first confirmed landing was by a Norwegian team in 1895. In the early 20th century, there were a few expeditions into the interior of the continent. British explorers Douglas Mawson, Edgeworth David, and Alistair Mackay were the first to reach the magnetic South Pole in 1909, and the geographic South Pole was first reached in 1911 by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.
Antarctica is governed by 29 countries, all of which are parties of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty System. According to the terms of the treaty, military activity, mining, nuclear explosions, and nuclear waste disposal are all prohibited in Antarctica. Tourism, fishing and research are the main human activities in and around Antarctica. During the summer months, about 5,000 people reside at research stations, a figure that drops to around 1,000 in the winter. Despite the continent's remoteness, human activity has a significant effect on it via pollution, ozone depletion, and climate change.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Antarctica (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Geography and Climate of Antarctica
Speculation over the existence of a "southern land" was confirmed in the early 1820s when British and American commercial operators and British and Russian national expeditions began exploring the Antarctic Peninsula region and other areas south of the Antarctic Circle. In 1840, it was finally established that Antarctica was indeed a continent and not merely a group of islands or an area of ocean. Several exploration "firsts" were achieved in the early 20th century, but the area saw little human activity. Following World War II, however, the continent experienced an upsurge in scientific research. A number of countries have set up a range of year-round and seasonal stations, camps, and refuges to support scientific research in Antarctica. Seven have made territorial claims, with two maintaining the basis for a claim, but most countries do not recognize these claims. In order to form a legal framework for countries' activities on the continent, an Antarctic Treaty was negotiated that neither denies nor recognizes existing territorial claims; it was signed in 1959 and entered into force in 1961. Also relevant to Antarctic governance are the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty and the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
- Location
- Continent mostly south of the Antarctic Circle.
- Climate
- The coldest, windiest, and driest continent on Earth; severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and distance from the ocean; East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation; Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate; higher temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing; summers characterized by continuous daylight, while winters bring continuous darkness; persistent high pressure over the interior brings dry, subsiding air that results in very little cloud cover.
- Terrain
- About 99% thick continental ice sheet and 1% barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 m; mountain ranges up to nearly 5,000 m; 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.
- Highest point
- Vinson Massif 4,892 m.
- Lowest point
- Denman Glacier more than -3,500 m (-11,500 ft) below sea level.
- Coastline
- 17,968 km.
- Land borders
- Note: see entry on Disputes - international.
- Natural resources
- Iron ore, chromium, copper, gold, nickel, platinum and other minerals, and coal and hydrocarbons have been found in small noncommercial quantities; mineral exploitation except for scientific research is banned by the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty; krill, icefish, toothfish, and crab have been taken by commercial fisheries, which are managed through the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
- Land use
- Agricultural land: 0% (2018 est.)
- 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; large icebergs may calve from ice shelf volcanism: volcanic activity on Deception Island and isolated areas of West Antarctica; other seismic activity rare and weak.
- Geographic note
- The coldest, windiest, highest (on average), and driest continent; during the summer, more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South Pole than is received at the equator in an equivalent period mostly uninhabitable, 99% of the land area is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, the largest single mass of ice on Earth; it covers an area of 14 million sq km (5.4 million sq mi) and contains 26.5 million cu km (6.4 million cu mi) of ice (almost 62% of the world's fresh water)
From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.
Antarctica in Depth
Geologic history
From the end of the Neoproterozoic era to the Cretaceous, Antarctica was part of the supercontinent Gondwana. The Neoproterozoic fusion of Antarctica into Gondwana likely resulted in extensive mountain formation. Modern Antarctica was formed as Gondwana gradually broke apart beginning in the Early Jurassic, around 183 Ma. For a large proportion of the Phanerozoic, Antarctica had a relatively temperate climate, and it was covered in forests, despite being at high latitude for most of the last 400 million years.
During the Cambrian period, Gondwana had a mild climate. Mountainous areas of Antarctica may have undergone extensive erosion during the early Palaeozoic.
Geography
Positioned asymmetrically around the South Pole and largely south of the Antarctic Circle (one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the world), Antarctica is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. Rivers exist in Antarctica; the longest is the Onyx. Antarctica covers more than 14.2 million km2 (5,500,000 sq mi), almost double the area of Australia, making it the fifth-largest continent, and comparable to the surface area of Pluto. Its coastline is almost 18,000 km (11,200 mi) long. as of 1983, of the four coastal types, 44% of the coast is floating ice in the form of an ice shelf, 38% consists of ice walls that rest on rock, 13% is ice streams or the edge of glaciers, and the remaining 5% is exposed rock.
Climate
Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and driest of Earth's continents.
Near the coast, the temperature can exceed 10 °C in summer and fall to below −40 °C in winter. Over the elevated inland, it can rise to about −30 °C in summer but fall below −80 °C in winter.
The lowest natural air temperature ever recorded on Earth was −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) at the Russian Vostok Station in Antarctica on 21 July 1983. A lower air temperature of −94.7 °C (−138.5 °F) was recorded in 2010 by satellite—however, it may have been influenced by ground temperatures and was not recorded at a height of 2 m (7 ft) above the surface as required for official air temperature records.
Economy and tourism
Deposits of coal, hydrocarbons, iron ore, platinum, copper, chromium, nickel, gold, and other minerals have been found in Antarctica, but not in large enough quantities to extract. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, which came into effect in 1998 and is due to be reviewed in 2048, restricts the exploitation of Antarctic resources, including minerals.
Tourists have been visiting Antarctica since 1957. Tourism is subject to the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty and Environmental Protocol; the self-regulatory body for the industry is the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Antarctica (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Antarctica: Key Facts
| Calling code | +672 |
|---|---|
| Internet domain | .aq |
| Highest point | Vinson Massif |
| Lowest point | Bentley Subglacial Trench |
Facts from Wikidata Q51 (CC0).
Visiting Antarctica
Antarctica is the coldest and driest place on Earth, and surrounds the South Pole. Tourist visits are costly, demand physical fitness, can only take place in summer (from November to February), and are largely limited to the Peninsula, Islands and Ross Sea. A couple of thousand staff live here in summer in some four dozen bases mostly in those areas; a small number stay over winter. Inland Antarctica is a desolate plateau covered by 2–3 kilometres (1.2–1.9 mi) of ice. Occasional specialist air tours go inland, for mountaineering or to reach the Pole, which has a large base. Wildlife needs access to the sea and is confined to the coasts.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Antarctica (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Antarctica
40 cities recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McMurdo Station | 1,000 | — | Scientific station |
| 2 | Esperanza Station | 250 | — | Scientific station |
| 3 | Casey Station | 200 | — | Scientific station |
| 4 | AmundseniScott South Pole Station | 200 | — | Scientific station |
| 5 | Mirny Station | 169 | — | Scientific station |
| 6 | Marambio Base | 150 | — | Scientific station |
| 7 | Base Presidente Montalva | 150 | — | Scientific station |
| 8 | Rothera Station | 130 | — | Scientific station |
| 9 | Dumont d'Urville Station | 120 | — | Scientific station |
| 10 | Belgrano II Base | 100 | — | Scientific station |
| 11 | King Sejong Station | 90 | — | Scientific station |
| 12 | Scott Base | 85 | — | Scientific station |
| 13 | Zucchelli Station | 80 | — | Scientific station |
| 14 | Davis Station | 70 | — | Scientific station |
| 15 | Novolazarevskaya Station | 70 | — | Scientific station |
| 16 | Halley Station | 70 | — | Scientific station |
| 17 | Maitri Station | 65 | — | Scientific station |
| 18 | Artigas Base | 60 | — | Scientific station |
| 19 | Carlini Base | 60 | — | Scientific station |
| 20 | Zhongshan Station | 60 | — | Scientific station |
| 21 | Mawson Station | 60 | — | Scientific station |
| 22 | Showa Station | 60 | — | Scientific station |
| 23 | Palmer Station | 46 | — | Scientific station |
| 24 | Orcadas Station | 45 | — | Scientific station |
| 25 | Troll Station | 44 | — | Scientific station |
The other 15 (population, region, role)
- Gen. O'Higgins Base · 44 · Scientific station
- Capitan Arturo Prat Station · 41 · Scientific station
- Great Wall Station · 40 · Scientific station
- Neumayer Station III · 40 · Scientific station
- Sobral Base · 40 · Scientific station
- Concordia Research Station · 30 · Scientific station
- Vostok · 25 · Scientific station
- Escudero Base · 20 · Scientific station
- San Martín Base · 20 · Scientific station
- Aboa Station · 18 · Scientific station
- Wasa Station · 10 · Scientific station
- Svea Station · 10 · Scientific station
- Signy Research Station · 8 · Scientific station
- Elephant Island · 6 · Scientific station
- Peter I Island · 1 · Scientific station
Highest Mountains in Antarctica
22 mountains recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vinson Massif | 4,892 m | 16,050 ft | Antarctica |
| 2 | Mount Kirkpatrick | 4,528 m | 14,856 ft | Antarctica |
| 3 | Mount Sidley | 4,285 m | 14,058 ft | Antarctica |
| 4 | Mount Kaplan | 4,230 m | 13,878 ft | Antarctica |
| 5 | Mount Minto | 4,166 m | 13,668 ft | Antarctica |
| 6 | Dome A (Argus) | 4,093 m | 13,428 ft | Antarctica |
| 7 | Mount Fridtjof Nansen | 4,069 m | 13,350 ft | Antarctica |
| 8 | Cape Colbeck | 4,069 m | 13,350 ft | Antarctica |
| 9 | Mount Lister | 4,023 m | 13,199 ft | Antarctica |
| 10 | Faure Peak | 3,940 m | 12,927 ft | Antarctica |
Ports in Antarctica
6 ports recorded. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on.
| # | Name | Channel Depth | Class | Sea | Max Vessel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melchior Harbor | 49.4 m | Very Small | Antarctica & Southern Ocean | point_of_interest |
| 2 | Ellefsen Harbor | 34.7 m | Very Small | Antarctica & Southern Ocean | point_of_interest |
| 3 | Port Lockroy | 12.8 m | Very Small | Antarctica & Southern Ocean | point_of_interest |
| 4 | Admiralty Bay | 5.5 m | Very Small | Antarctica & Southern Ocean | point_of_interest |
| 5 | Port Foster | 5.5 m | Very Small | Antarctica & Southern Ocean | point_of_interest |
| 6 | Andersen Harbor | 5.5 m | Very Small | Antarctica & Southern Ocean | point_of_interest |
Largest Islands of Antarctica
24 islands recorded. Ranked by mapped area. An island divided between countries is listed under each, with the area of the whole island.
| # | Name | Area | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Shetland Islands | 13,994 km² | Island group |
| 2 | Balleny Islands | 3,113 km² | Island group |
| 3 | South Orkney Islands | 1,895 km² | Island group |
| 4 | Joinville Island | 1,675 km² | Island |
| 5 | Biscoe Islands | 1,640 km² | Island group |
| 6 | James Ross Island | 1,545 km² | Island |
| 7 | Hearst Island | 1,130 km² | Island |
| 8 | Berkner Island | 636 km² | Island |
| 9 | Brabant Island | 620 km² | Island |
| 10 | King George Island | 518 km² | Island |
Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Antarctica
72 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.
| # | Name | Area | Type | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antarctica | 11.93M km² | Continent | Antarctica |
| 2 | Antarctic Ice Sheet | 5.66M km² | Glaciated areas | — |
| 3 | Antarctic Ice Sheet | 3.86M km² | Glaciated areas | — |
| 4 | Antarctic Ice Sheet | 2.53M km² | Glaciated areas | — |
| 5 | East Antarctica | 884,951 km² | Geoarea | Antarctica |
| 6 | Polar Plateau | 845,287 km² | Plateau | Antarctica |
| 7 | Queen Maud Land | 334,849 km² | Geoarea | Antarctica |
| 8 | Enderby Land | 287,658 km² | Geoarea | Antarctica |
| 9 | Rockefeller Plateau | 265,550 km² | Plateau | Antarctica |
| 10 | Transantarctic Mountains | 182,884 km² | Range/mtn | Antarctica |
Antarctica: Quick Answers
- What is the population of Antarctica?
- Antarctica has a population of about 5,000, the #221 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: Wikidata.
- How big is Antarctica?
- Antarctica covers 13.72M km², ranking #2 by area.
- Which continent is Antarctica in?
- Antarctica is in Antarctica.
- What is the largest city in Antarctica?
- McMurdo Station is the largest city in Antarctica, with a metropolitan population of about 1,000.
- What is the highest mountain in Antarctica?
- The highest summit recorded for Antarctica in YearMaps is Vinson Massif at 4,892 m (16,050 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.