What Is on Antarctica?

Ice Sheet: Covers 98% of continent; avg. thickness 2,160 m (7,100 ft); holds ~70% of Earth's fresh water.
Snow: Year-round; deep in places, hard-packed.
Mountains: Transantarctic Mountains (divide east/west); highest: Mount Vinson (4,892 m / 16,050 ft).
Valleys: McMurdo Dry Valleys—among Earth's driest places; unique extremophile ecosystems.
Lakes: Subglacial (e.g., Lake Vostok, 250 km long, under 3.7 km ice).
Rivers: Onyx River (longest, ~30 km, flows to Lake Vanda).
Glaciers & Ice Shelves: Ross Ice Shelf (world's largest, ~487,000 km², ~500 m thick).
Sea Ice: Seasonal expansion up to 19M km²; critical for global climate.
Wildlife: Penguins (18 species), seals (Weddell, leopard, crabeater), whales, seabirds (skuas, petrels). No land mammals.

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