Continent
Antarctica is Earth's fifth largest continent. Antarctica, the coldest place on Earth, covers Earth's South Pole. It has a surface area of ~13.6 –14 million km2: this is about 1.4 times the size of Europe, The continent only has two seasons, a brief summer and a long winter. Antarctica is a cold desert. It does not rain or snow much there. Ever since its discovery in 1812, Antarctica was a great challenge for explorers. Despite being nearly completely covered by a thick layer of ice, Antarctica has a range of aquatic and terrestrial environments.