No continent is less visited by humans; the 12,000 or so who make it to Antarctica in a given year could be housed, with a couple of rollaways, in one Las Vegas megahotel — and just about all who do make it get only as far as this 800-mile-long spit. They don’t see the incredible emptiness of the interior and they miss experiencing the nonsequitur that is the Dry Valleys, but just about everything else Antarctic is here: icebergs, ice fields, mountains, glaciers and, of course, penguins. Those who stick around long enough can also enjoy the cruelest weather imaginable and the terrifying isolation that comes with it. Few do. But no one leaves without wondering what it would be like . . .
ANTARCTICA: SEVEN MORE WONDERS
DRY VALLEYS
On a continent 98 percent covered by ice and snow, an eerie exception.
GLACIERS
Antarctica’s rivers of ice are the longest and broadest on the planet.
ICEBERGS
Magnificent, sometimes dangerous, these blue giants dwarf even leviathans.
MT. EREBUS
Of the continent’s many volcanoes, this 12,448-foot mountain is its most active.
ROSS ICE SHELF
A mass of floating ice, as much as 2,300 feet deep, it is a prime source of icebergs.
SOUTH POLE
The geographic pole has been a magnet for explorers, scientists and adventurers alike.
TRANSANTARCTIC MOUNTAINS
A barren, bleak 2,000-mile-long range that divides East and West Antarctica.
