Map of Antarctica

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Geography

Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent following Asia, Africa, North America, and South America, but larger than Australia and the subcontinent of Europe. It has a total area of 14 million sq km and is one and a half times larger than the size of United States, twice the size of Australia and 42 times larger than Malaysia's land and water combined.

It has the highest average elevation continent on Earth at 2,160 meter (7,100 feet), making it about 1,000 meter higher than the global average land height. The South Pole itself resides on the high Polar Plateau - 2,835 meters above sea level. Antartica is the most isolated place in the world and was recently found in early 19th century.

It rotates around the South Pole, the most southernly point on the Earth's rotational axis. About 98% of the continent is covered in continental ice sheet while 2% is barren rocks and mountain parts that jut up in the glacier or the ice, better known by the Inuit people as nunataks. The average thickness of the ice sheet on Antarctica is 2.3km (1.5 miles). The thickest ice sheet can be found at Wilkes Land - where it reaches a depth of 4,776 meters (15,669 feet).

Antarctica can be divided into 3 parts; East Antarctica(7.77 million sq km), West Antarctica (6.475 million sq km) and Antarctica Peninsula. The Transantarctic Mountains, along the 180° Longitude, divides the continent into two - East Antarctica being the larger piece and the colder region due to it's higher elevation and West Antarctica, a region that connects to Antarctica Peninsula. From the tip of Antarctica Peninsula (the furthest point of the continent), it takes about 1130km (700 miles) to reach its nearest continental neighbour - South America.

Where is Antarctica from Malaysia?