Antarctica

You will never guess where ninety percent of the Earth’s freshwater is. It’s frozen in the massive ice sheet covering the continent of Antarctica! In some places, the ice is three miles thick. It’s so heavy that it has forced the land down below sea level. Still, Antarctica has the highest average elevation of any continent because the ice is piled up so high.

The South Pole is in Antarctica, but the continent covers a huge area. It is the fifth-largest continent. Its size changes constantly because the ice melts and grows. The Southern Ocean surrounds Antarctica. In winter about half of the ocean freezes under about three feet of ice.