16 interesting facts about Antarctica

1. The temperature in Antarctica almost always remains below freezing.
2. Only about 0.4 percent of Antarctica is not covered by ice.
3. Antarctica is one and a half times the size of United States.
4. In 1983, the lowest temperature every recorded was on Antarctica: -129 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. There are no peoples native to Antarctica.
6. Antarctica is the driest, windiest, and coldest continent.
7. Antarctica gets its name from the Greek language. In a bit of deviousness, the term because it means opposite the Arctic.
8. The interior of Antarctica is the world’s biggest desert, with the precipitation (if it were melted) averaging under 2 inches (5 centimeters) of water a year.
9. Wildlife in Antarctica is limited to the coastal areas and includes penguins, seals and some Antarctic birds
10. Antartica is the 5th biggest continent.
11. Antarctica holds roughly one third of all the fresh water on Earth.
12. 13,900,000 sq km – that’s almost twice the size of Europe or about the same size as the USA and Mexico combined.
13. The continent of Antarctica is buried under 1 mile of snow and ice.
14. No trees grow on Antarctica.
15. At its deepest point, the ice is over 3 miles thick.
16. On average, Antarctica is 17 degrees colder than the Artic in the north.