Antarctic refers to the region around the South Pole at the bottom of our planet.

The Antarctic is one of Earth's most extreme environments. Antarctica, the continent at its center, is covered by ice sheets up to three miles thick in places. It's the coldest, windiest, and driest continent on Earth. Temperatures can drop below negative 100 degrees Fahrenheit in winter. Despite these harsh conditions, hardy animals like penguins, seals, and whales thrive in the Antarctic waters.

Scientists from many countries operate research stations in Antarctica to study everything from ancient climate patterns frozen in ice to how organisms survive in extreme cold. The continent has no permanent human residents, only researchers who stay for months at a time.

When you see antarctic with a lowercase “a,” it simply means relating to this southern polar region, like antarctic ice or antarctic exploration. The Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959, dedicates the entire continent to peaceful scientific research, making it one of the few places on Earth that belongs to no single nation.