![]() ![]() ![]() The elevation of the Antarctic Ice Sheet itself is about 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) and reaches 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) above sea level near the center of the continent. A few of these summits reach altitudes of more than 4,500 meters (14,764 feet). Antarctica has a number of mountain summits, including the Transantarctic Mountains, which divide the continent into eastern and western regions. Glacial ice moves from the continent’s interior to these lower- elevation ice shelves at rates of 10 to 1,000 meters (33 to 32,808 feet) per year. Ice shelves are floating sheets of ice that are connected to the continent. Ice sheet growth mainly occurs at the coastal ice shelves, primarily the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ronne Ice Shelf. The ice surface dramatically grows in size from about three million square kilometers (1.2 million square miles) at the end of summer to about 19 million square kilometers (7.3 million square miles) by winter. This ice sheet even extends beyond the continent when snow and ice are at their most extreme. It is the largest single piece of ice on Earth. Physical Geography Physical Features The Antarctic Ice Sheet dominates the region. The islands of the Antarctic region are: Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands, claimed by the United Kingdom South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, administered by the United Kingdom and claimed by Argentina Peter I Island and Bouvet Island, claimed by Norway Heard and McDonald islands, claimed by Australia and Scott Island and the Balleny Islands, claimed by New Zealand. The Antarctic also includes island territories within the Antarctic Convergence. The treaty does not legally recognize any claims. Seven countries made defined claims to Antarctic territory prior to the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. (It is larger than both Oceania and Europe.) Antarctica is a unique continent in that it does not have a native human population. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent in terms of total area. The Antarctic covers approximately 20 percent of the Southern Hemisphere. The Antarctic Convergence is an uneven line of latitude where cold, northward-flowing Antarctic waters meet the warmer waters of the world’s oceans. The Antarctic is a cold, remote area in the Southern Hemisphere encompassed by the Antarctic Convergence. ![]() The continent of Antarctica makes up most of the Antarctic region. ![]()
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