Antarctica

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, encircling the South Pole and situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14,200,000 square kilometers (5,500,000 square miles), it is the fifth-largest continent and nearly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages at least 1.9 kilometers (1.2 mi) in thickness, which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 200 mm (8 in) along the coast and far less inland. The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89 °C (−128.2 °F). There are no permanent human residents, but anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations of various nations. Only cold-adapted organisms survive there, including many types of algae, animals (for example mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades), and bacterial colonies. Vegetation, where it occurs, is tundra.

In Hebrew, Antarctica is called אנטארקטיקה (Antarktika). In Spanish, it is called Antártida, in French, Antarctique, in German, Antarktika, and in Russian, Антарктида (Antarktida).