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. [note 2] Rivers exist in Antarctica; the longest is the Onyx.

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.

Because Antarctica surrounds the South Pole, it is theoretically located in all time zones. For practical purposes, time zones are usually based on territorial claims or the time zone of a station's owner country or supply base.

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, known as Greater Antarctica.

The first official use of the name Antarctica as a continental name in the 1890s is said to have been used by Scottish cartographer John George Bartholomew. The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 by 21 countries.

NASA uses satellites to study the ice on Antarctica and how the continent is changing. Scientists want to know how changes in Earth’s climate are affecting Antarctica’s ice sheets.

Antarctica explained—fast facts, record cold, ice trends, wildlife, and how the Antarctic Treaty protects a continent devoted to peace and science.

From the highlights of the Antarctic Peninsula to the nearby islands and passages to visit on the way, here are our top places to visit in Antarctica!

Explore Earth's coldest continent with the latest Antarctica news, articles and features from Live Science.

Though Antarctica is really, really chilly, it is considered a desert because it receives very little rain or snowfall. The small amount of snow that does fall does not melt but builds up over hundreds and thousands of years to form large, thick ice sheets.