"Antarctica (/ænˈtɑːrktɪkə/ (audio speaker iconlisten)) is Earth's southernmost continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being nearly twice the size of Australia, and has an area of 14,200,000 km2 (5,500,000 sq mi). Most of Antarctica is covered by ice, with an average thickness of 1.9 km (1.2 mi).
Antarctica is on average the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and has the highest average elevation. It is mainly a polar desert, with annual precipitation of over 200 mm (8 in) along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's freshwater reserves are frozen there, which if melted would raise global sea levels by almost 60 metres (200 ft). Antarctica holds the record for the lowest measured temperature on Earth, −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F). The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10 °C (50 °F) in summer. Native species of animals include mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Vegetation consists of tundra.
The ice shelves of Antarctica were probably first seen in 1820, during the Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. The decades that followed saw further exploration by French, American and British expeditions. The first confirmed landing was by a Norwegian team in 1895. In the early 19th century, various expeditions into the interior were ventured. British explorer Ernest Shackleton was the first to reach the magnetic South Pole in 1907, and the geographic south pole was first reached in 1911 by Norwegian explorers.
During the summer months 5,000 people reside at research stations, a figure that drops to around 1,000 in the winter. Antarctica is governed by about 30 countries, all of which are parties to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty System. According to the terms of the treaty, military activity, mining, nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal are all prohibited."
(from Wikipedia)
Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World - A N T A R C T I C A (United States Geological Survey) (file size: about 19 MB)
Antarctica: Overview of Geopolitical and Environmental Issues (Congressional Research Service)
Exploring the Antarctic (Indian Space Research Organization) (file size: about 30 MB)
The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica by Howat, et al.: