Which Antarctic feature is the world's largest desert by area?

Antarctica is the world’s largest desert by area.

A desert is defined by very low precipitation, not by heat or sand. Antarctica receives little snowfall across much of its interior, so its ice-covered landscape qualifies as a polar desert. The continent covers about 14 million square kilometres, making it larger than Europe and roughly twice the area of Australia.

The Antarctic Ice Sheet contains about 90 percent of the world’s ice and around 60 percent of its fresh water. Coastal areas can receive more precipitation than the high interior, but the continent’s cold conditions prevent most moisture from falling as rain. The Sahara is the largest hot desert, not the largest desert overall. Antarctica has no permanent native human population, though research stations operate there year-round.