Antarctica is the largest desert on Earth, even though it is covered in ice.
A desert is defined primarily by very low precipitation, not by heat or the presence of sand. Antarctica receives so little precipitation that its vast ice sheet qualifies as a polar desert. The continent covers about 14 million square kilometres, making it larger than Europe and Australia.
Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, which contains the greatest store of fresh water on Earth. Temperatures are extremely low, and the interior is especially dry because cold air holds little moisture. The Sahara is the largest hot desert, while Antarctica and the Arctic are polar deserts. Antarctica has no permanent native human population, though many countries operate research stations there.