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Antarctica

A satellite composite image of Antarctica

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, overlying the South Pole. It is situated in the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14.4 million km² (5.4 million sq mi), it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. Some 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice, which averages at least 1.6 kilometers (1.0 mi) in thickness.

On average, Antarctica is the coldest, wettest and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Since there is little precipitation, except at the coasts, the interior of the continent is technically the largest desert in the world. There are no permanent human residents and there is no evidence of any existing or pre-historic indigenous population. Only cold-adapted plants and animals survive there, including penguins, fur seals, mosses, lichen, and many types of algae.

  

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The geodesic dome at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, under the aurora australis (the Southern Lights).
Polar night is a phenomenon resulting from the axial tilt of the Earth respective to the Sun, where the Sun does not rise above the horizon during any 24 hour period in the regions of the Earth in proximity to the poles . The length of this time when the sun is constantly below the horizon varies from 20 hours at locations on the Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle to 179 days at the geographic poles. The period of polar night can trigger depression in some people. People who suffer from seasonal affective disorder are particularly susceptible.
  

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Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), Ross Ice Shelf, Cape Washington, Antarctica
Credit: User:Dbush

The Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The species breeds in the coldest environment of any bird species; air temperatures may reach −40 °C (−40 °F), and wind speeds may reach 144 km/h (89 mph). Water temperature is a frigid −1.8 °C (30 °F).

  

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Airports in Antarctica • Antarctic territorial claims • Antarctica Agreements • Antarctica geography stubs • British Antarctic Territory • Bulgaria in Antarctica • Churches in Antarctica • Exploration of Antarctica • Explorers of Antarctica • Fauna of Antarctica • Flora of Antarctica • Geography of Antarctica • Glaciers of Antarctica • Headlands of Antarctica • History of Antarctica • Ice shelves • Indian Antarctic Program • Maps of Antarctica • Maps of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands • Natural history of Antarctica • New Zealand and the Antarctic • Norwegian Antarctic Territory • Old maps of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands • Operation Deep Freeze • Outposts of Antarctica • People of Antarctica • Ross Dependency • Science research in Antarctica • South African National Antarctic Programme • South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands • South Shetland Islands • Transport in Antarctica
  

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