Welcome to Antarctica

Welcome to the most extreme place on Earth. Antarctica is the coldest, driest, windiest, and highest continent — a landmass one and a half times the size of the United States, covered in an ice sheet that holds roughly 70 percent of the world's fresh water.

No country owns Antarctica. Since the Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 by twelve nations, this continent has been dedicated to peace and scientific research. Today, about 1,000 to 5,000 people live here at any given time — all of them scientists and support staff working at research stations scattered across the ice.

But while few humans call Antarctica home, millions of other creatures thrive here. Emperor penguins march across frozen seas, leopard seals patrol the waters, and colossal squid lurk in the deep. Beneath the ice, scientists have discovered subglacial lakes that have been sealed off from the surface for millions of years. Let us bundle up and explore the last great wilderness on Earth.