Antarctica is a land mass.
The Antarctic ice sheet is one of the two polar ice caps of the Earth . Antarctica ( UK English [ ænˈtɑːktɪkə ] or [ ænˈtɑːtɪkə ] , US English [ æntˈɑːrktɪkə ] ) is Earth 's southernmost continent . At 14000000 km2 , it is the fifth-largest continent . Antarctica , on average , is the coldest , driest , and windiest continent , and has the highest average elevation of all the continents .