Do you think you've got the guts to handle this rugged, barren, frozen desert at the bottom of the Earth?

This environment is so hostile and remote that it is the only place in the world without any permanent inhabitants. Though no one lives here all the time, people do visit every year. Most of them are scientists who come to study specific aspects of the continent related to their field of scientific expertise, such as biology, geology, astrophysics, paleontology, climate change, and more!

What would you feel like if you were here? I might feel as frozen as a statue! Antarctica's climate is the coldest, driest, and windiest on Earth. Did you know that deserts are not only for hot regions? Antarctica's conditions make it a cold desert.

On average, Antarctica only receives about 2 inches of rain each year. Compare that to the Sahara Desert, the largest hot desert in the world, that receives an average of 3 inches of rain per year! Which desert would you pick? This is a tough choice between two extremes: hot versus cold desert!

Do you know how when you make your bed, you cover the bed with a sheet? Well, this is exactly like Antarctica, except imagine a very thick sheet...of ICE!

Antarctica is a large continent, or piece of land, that is almost entirely covered by a thick layer of ice called an ice sheet! Most of Earth's fresh water is stored in the Antarctic ice sheet - approximately 70%!

"At present, Antarctica has on average 2 km depth of ice across its entire area!" Professor Pete Convey, British Antarctic Survey

(2 km is equivalent to a little over 1 mile)

Do you know how many forms ice can take? Antarctica is the place to observe these smooth, glassy, glittering, massive wonders in their most pristine state.

There are ice shelves, which are like islands of ice. The edges of Antarctica are fringed by large ice shelves, such as Ross Ice Shelf.

When ice breaks off into large chunks floating in the water, these are called icebergs.

Glaciers, or slow-moving "rivers of ice," are formed by layers of snow accumulating, or piling up, over hundreds to even thousands of years. The snow is compressed, or packed together so tightly, that it turns into ice. Pine Island Glacier covers part of the continent!

Dry Areas and Mountain Ranges

Don't worry, you can get to dry land! You just have to look carefully, because these areas are quite difficult to find... Less than 1% of Antarctica is free of ice!

In the distance, you see what appears to be the tops of mountains peaking up from beneath a blanket of snow... You've spotted Nunataks!

Source: British Antarctic Survey

McMurdo Dry Valleys of East Antarctica

Rocky, Dry, Cold, Empty, Mysterious, Peculiar....

This is an environment scientists believe is very similar to that of planet Mars!

Tokens of Truth: The scientists love these dry areas because they can collect rock samples and fossils that give them information about ancient life. While you and I might think of rocks as simply ordinary, scientists pick up these small, extraordinary treasures as though they hold secret clues to what Antarctica used to be like ages and ages ago....

The fossil discoveries have shown that Antarctica used to actually be much warmer with diverse flora and fauna!