25 Facts About East Antarctica

1. East Antarctica accounts for about 75 percent of the surface area and is slightly larger than the United States.

2. East Antarctica can roughly be divided into three regions: East Antarctica, West Antarctica, and the Antarctic Peninsula.

3. East Antarctica is positioned over the South Pole, which means it receives less of the Sun's energy over the course of a year than any other continent because of the way Earth is tilted with respect to the Sun.

4. East Antarctica is geologically varied, dating from the Precambrian era, with some rocks formed more than 3 billion years ago.

5. Since 2009, East Antarctica has lost almost 278 billion tons of ice per year, the study found.

6. Since 2009, East Antarctica has lost almost 252 billion tonnes of ice per year, the new study found.

7. Since 2009, East Antarctica has lost almost 278 billion tons of ice per year, the new study found.

8. East Antarctica is the fifth largest continent, but it is home to almost nothing.

9. East Antarctica is the driest continent; it is almost entirely desert.

10. East Antarctica is defined as all land and ice shelves south of 60° S for the purposes of the Treaty System.

11. The only anomalous area of West East Antarctica is the Ellsworth Mountains region, where the stratigraphy is more similar to East Antarctica.

12. The most common rocks in West East Antarctica are andesite and rhyolite volcanics formed during the Jurassic period.

13. East Antarctica was not always cold, dry, and covered in ice sheets.

14. East Antarctica contains many other mountains, on both the main continent and the surrounding islands.

15. East Antarctica is largely covered by the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.

16. East Antarctica is divided in two by the Transantarctic Mountains close to the neck between the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea.

17. East Antarctica is a de facto condominium, governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty System that have consulting status.

18. East Antarctica is colder than its western counterpart because of its higher elevation.

19. East Antarctica is the fifth largest and the southernmost continent covering 5.4 million square miles.

20. East Antarctica makes up two-thirds of the continent, and is about the size of Australia.

21. East Antarctica is so cold, high and dry, that it creates its own climate 7.

22. East Antarctica lies almost entirely within the Antarctic Circle, which is at about 66 degrees south latitude.

23. East Antarctica is home to Mount Erebus, the southernmost active volcano on the planet and home to Earth's only long-lived lava lakes.

24. East Antarctica has the potential to reshape coastlines around the world through sea level rise, but scientists have long considered it more stable than its neighbor, West Antarctica.

25. East Antarctica is supposed to be the most extremely stable ice on the planet.