Antarctica’s Ice Sheet: Scale and Significance

A Continent Buried in Ice

Antarctica is covered by a massive ice sheet with an average thickness of 2,160 meters (7,090 feet).

Key Facts

• Contains ~70% of Earth’s fresh water.
• If melted, would raise global sea levels by ~60 meters (200 feet).
• Thickest in East Antarctica: over 4,776 meters (15,670 feet) in places.

This ice sheet makes Antarctica the highest, driest, coldest, and windiest continent—and a critical regulator of global climate.