Earth’s fifth largest and southernmost continent is Antarctica. The continent lies over the South Pole, and is covered 98% with ice, with an average thickness of 1.6 kilometers. Antarctica is a cold, dry and windy continent, devoid of any permanent human habitation, and its central area is technically the largest desert in the world. Only a few cold- adapted living beings survive there, including a number of algae, lichens and mosses, and of course the fur seals and the penguins. The continent’s ecozone is protected by the Antarctic Treaty signed in 1959, which prohibits military and mining activities in the continent. Around 5000 scientists from different parts of the world are stationed in Antarctica for various research activities.
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