A rather cool place. In some places as cool as Saturn (the planet, not the car - though the car's pretty cool too). The main vertebrate life is penguins, several species of mostly black and white birds that stand between two and four feet tall. The largest penguin - the Emperor Penguin, breeds there during the winter.

There are almost no land plants there, but there are several species of algae that live in or on the snow, and one species of insect - a fly, of course.

No people live there permanently, by international treaty. However, there are several stations set up around the continent, including at the South Pole. Because there are so few people there, much environmental research can be conducted that can't be done elsewhere, because the influence of local people would be too strong.

Some of the concern about global warming is based on research in Antarctica, where the ice has been thinning for many years. If the ice from Antarctica were to all melt, it would raise ocean levels about 300 feet (100 meters), covering the homes of over half the people of earth. Recent work on the ice cap of the Arctic Ocean is also of concern.

There is also a permanent hole in the ozone layer over the continent. The ozone layer protects the planet from some forms of harmful radiation, and the hole allows some of that radiation in. There are studies being done on the effects this has on the few organisms that live there.

Antarctica is surrounded by the Antarctic Ocean.

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