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The continent consists of a large land mass, divided into Greater Antarctica, the larger part, and Lesser Antarctica, including the Antarctic (or Palmer) Peninsula. Lesser Antarctica is mostly set off from Greater by huge indents--reaching beyond 80 degrees south: the Weddell Sea on one side and the Ross Sea on the other. A great mountain range, the Transantarctic, also serves to divide the two parts. The range starts along the eastern end of Greater Antarctica--near the Ross Sea, crosses not far from the South Pole, and ends along the southeastern end of the Weddell Sea. Its tallest peak is Mt. Kirkpatrick, above 4,500 meters.
In both areas a general pattern prevails. A high plateau occupyies most of the area. Mountains and hills mark the shore-approach, although they are interruped by glacial flows like Lambert. The coastal mountains in Lesser Antarctica are quite high: above 4,100 meters at Mt. Sidley in the Executive Committee Range, and above 5,100 meters at Vinson Massif in the Ellsworth Mountains.
Beyond the shores, in most places, are ice shelves, often containing embedded islands. Sometimes there are ice shelves not attached to the shore. In the early 21st century one of the largest ice shelves, Ronne, disintegrated due to global warming. Others in Lesser Antarctica may follow suit. The largest embedded islands are Korff Ice Rise, Henry Ice Rise and Berkner Island, all in the sea ice that was once the Ronne Ice Shelf; Alexander, Smyley, Latady, Adelaide, Spaatz, Anvers and James Ross, all near the peninsula; Roosevelt and Ross in the Ross Ice Shelf; and Siple, Carney and Thurston off the Lesser Antarctic non-peninsular coast.
Beyond the ice shelves, in most places, is sea ice, varying in density and extent with the seasons.
Several islands, beyond the permanent sea ice, are included with the continent: Bouvet, the Crozets, the Kerguelen Archipelago, Amsterdam, Saint-Paul Islands, Heard and MacDonald Islands, the Balleny Islands and Peter I Island.
Some islands that some would include with this continent but I did not are: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the South Orkney Islands and the South Shetland Islands, all of which I include with South America; the Prince Edward Islands, which I include with Africa; and Macquarie, the Auckland Islands, Campbell Island, the Bounty Islands and the Antipode Islands, all of which I include with Oceania.
Judging by the nationalities of the administrators of the permanent research stations, and sub-dividing the continent into arbitrary wedges, the languages and religions (or religious backgrounds) can be presumed.
| Majority Language (or Group) | Majority Religion | Locations |
| Spanish | Roman Catholic Christian | 74 to 25 degrees west |
| uninhabited | -- | 120 to 74 and 25 to 20 degrees west; and 142 to 160 and 120 to 136 degrees east |
| West Germanic Group | Protestant Christian | 20 degrees west to 5 degrees east |
| Indo-European Group | no majority | 5 to 25 degrees east |
| Japanese | Buddhism/ Shintoism | 25 to 45 degrees east |
| English | Protestant Christian | 60 to 75 and 105 to 120 degrees east; and 160 degrees east to 120 degrees west |
| Indo-European Group | Christian | 75 to 90 degrees east |
| Russian | Russian Orthodox Christian | 45 to 60 and 90 to 105 degrees east |
| French | Roman Catholic Christian | 136 to 142 degrees east |
McMurdo Station, with about 250 year-round residents, is the most populous place. The Chilean and Argentine bases are where families have lived, albeit only for two years each.