South Pole lies at the southernmost point of the Earth, a place defined not by drifting
sea ice but by a vast, frozen continent. Unlike its northern counterpart, the South Pole rests firmly upon land—specifically the continent of Antarctica—buried beneath an ice sheet that in places is several kilometers thick. It is a realm of extremes: the coldest, driest, and windiest continent on Earth. Yet it is also a place of profound scientific importance, international cooperation, and stark, transcendent beauty.
At 90 degrees south latitude, all lines of longitude converge just as they do at the North Pole, rendering conventional directions meaningless. From the South Pole, every direction is north. The sun behaves differently here as well. Instead of rising and setting each day, it circles the sky once per year. For six months, from late September to late March, the sun remains continuously above the horizon, casting an unbroken daylight across the snow. For the other six months, darkness prevails, interrupted only by starlight, moonlight, and the shimmering aurora australis.
The South Pole sits atop the Antarctic Plateau, one of the highest and coldest regions on the planet. Although Antarctica is surrounded by ocean, the interior plateau rises more than 2,800 meters above sea level. Temperatures at the pole routinely drop below minus 50 degrees Celsius in winter, and the record low temperature for the continent was recorded not far from here. The air is exceptionally dry; in fact, Antarctica is technically a desert, receiving very little precipitation. Snow accumulates slowly over millennia, compressing into dense ice that forms the Antarctic Ice Sheet. shutdown123