Antarctica

Antarctica, the coldest and second-smallest continent (after Australia), is centered on the South Pole and is situated almost entirely within the Antarctic Circle at 66 1/2° S. Some 97% of the total area of about 13,924,000 sq km (5,376,000 sq mi) is covered by ice, and the continent contains about 90% of the world's ice and 70% of the fresh water. Antarctica is bounded by the Southern Ocean. The nearest points of land are the southern tip of South America, South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands, the South Orkney Islands, and the South Shetland Islands. All of these islands are located within the Antarctic Convergence, which encircles Antarctica at approximately 1,600 km (1,000 mi) from the coast and divides the cold Antarctic waters from the warmer waters of the four oceans, in a zone of perpetual turbulence.

The Southern Ocean, which totally encircles Antarctica, was delimited in 2000 as a result of a decision of...