Antarctic facts

• Antarctica is the world's fifth largest continent measuring 14 million square kilometers (5.4 million square miles)
• The ice sheet that covers almost all of Antarctica is the largest body of fresh water on earth containing approx. 91% of the world's ice and 70% of the world's fresh water
• If the ice sheet were to melt it would raise the world's oceans approx. 70m (200 ft)
• Antarctic is the driest continent on earth with an annual percipitation of less then 3 cm (1 inch) in the interior
• Some scientists believe that no rain has fallen in Antarctica's dry valleys in Victoria land for 2 million years
• The coldest recorded temperature was on July 21, 1983 at Volstok scientific station Antarctica -89.2 C (-128.6 F)