with all islands and ice shelves
with ice shelves and islands only within ice
with all islands but without ice shelves
contiguous continent

13,661,000 km²
13,643,000 km²
12,093,000 km²
11,900,000 km²

Australia
Canada
United States of America

7,686,855 km²
9,976,147 km²
9,363,132 km²

with all islands and ice shelves
with all islands but without ice shelves

10,241,000 km²
9,860,000 km²

with all islands and ice shelves
with all islands but without ice shelves

3,420,000 km²
2,233,000 km²

Area of Ross Ice Shelf

490,000 km²

Area of Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf

449,000 km²

Area of exposed rock in the Antarctic

(0.4% of the continent) 48,310 km²

Highest peak in Antarctica - Vinson Massif

4,897 m

Height of surface at South Pole

2,835 m

Average height

2,500 m

Maximum known thickness of ice
Terre Adélie (69°54'S, 135°12'E)

4,776 m

Greatest known depression of bedrock
Byrd Subglacial Basin (81°S, 110°W)

2,538 m

Shortest distance across Antarctica (via South Pole)
near Kvitkuven, Riiser-Larsenisen to McMurdo Sound
(72°15'S, 15°31'W to 78°00'S, 164°28'E)

3,250 km

Longest distance across the continent (via South Pole)
Cape Poinsett, Budd Coast to Icarus Point, Danco Coast
(66°58'S, 118°06'E to 64°35'S, 61°53'W)

5,339 km

Shortest distance to the South Pole (from Gould Bay)

1,234 km

dip magnetic pole (1990) off Terre Adélie
dipole geomagnetic pole (1999) near Vostok Station
corrected geomagnetic pole (1999) near Dome C

65°S, 139°E
80°06'S, 108°30'E
74°07'S, 126°22'E

Pole of Inaccessibility for contiguous continent
close to Vostok Station

77°15'S, 104°39'E

Pole of Inaccessibility for continent and ice shelves south of Prince Charles Mountains

83°50'S, 65°47'E

Number of wintering stations in the Antarctic south of 60°S (1998)

34

minimum (March)
maximum (September)

4,000,000 km²
22,000,000 km²

Freshwater

Approximately 90 % of the freshwater in the world is ice, and
Approximately 90% of the ice in the world is in Antarctica, therefore
Approximately 80 % of the freshwater in the world is ice in the Antarctic.

It has been suggested that small (by Antarctic standards) ice bergs could be towed to arid areas of the world and allowed to melt to provide freshwater.

An iceberg measuring 500 x 800 x 250 m has a volume of 100 x 10⁶ m³. This represents a volume of 100 x 10⁹ litres (22 x 10⁹ gallons) and would yield approximately 64 x 10⁹ litres (14 x 10⁹ gallons) of water, after allowing for 20 % loss during transit.

The largest ice berg ever recorded measured approximately 335 x 97 km, having an area of approximately 31,000 km². This is larger than Belgium.

Vostok Station, 21 July 1983

-89.2°C

Highest recorded wind velocity

Dumont d'Urville, July 1972

327 km h^-1