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| Antarctica A continent lying chiefly within the Antarctic Circle and asymmetrically centered on the South Pole: it consists of an ice-covered plateau (some 95 percent of Antarctica is covered by an icecap averaging 1,6 km in thickness), 1800-3000 m above sea level, and mountains ranges rising to 4500 m with some volcanic peaks; average temperatures all below freezing and human settlement is confined to research station | |||