Which desert is the largest on Earth, including its ice-covered interior?

The Antarctic Desert is the largest desert on Earth, including its ice-covered interior.

A desert is defined by very low precipitation, not by high temperatures or the presence of sand. Antarctica receives little snowfall across much of its interior, and the extremely cold air holds little moisture. Some parts of the continent receive less than 50 millimetres of precipitation annually.

Antarctica is often mistaken for a polar region that cannot also be a desert. In fact, its interior is a polar desert, while its ice sheet stores about 90 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. The continent is also the coldest, windiest and driest continent.

The Sahara is the largest hot desert, but it is far smaller than Antarctica. Antarctica’s desert classification covers the continent as a whole, including the ice sheet and exposed coastal areas.