General Information Essential identifiers, names, and flag. | Common Name Antarctic Treaty area |
Geography Key facts about location, terrain, climate, and borders. | N: -60.5155, S: -89.9999, W: -180, E: 180 Terrain about 99% thick continental ice sheet and 1% barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 mmountain ranges up to nearly 5,000 mice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Soundglaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent Climate the coldest, windiest, and driest continent on Earthsevere low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and distance from the oceanEast Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevationAntarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climatehigher temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezingsummers characterized by continuous daylight, while winters bring continuous darknesspersistent high pressure over the interior brings dry, subsiding air that results in very little cloud cover |
Administrative & Political Essential political and administrative details. | Government Type Co-administrated |
Population & Society Key demographic, linguistic, and cultural information. | |
Infrastructure Important identifiers for connectivity and commerce. | |