Is There Land Under Antarctica?

Sam (age 12) asked,

“Is there land under all the Antarctica ice?”

Great question, Sam!

Yes, there is land under the ice in Antarctica! The continent of Antarctica is made up of rock, and about 98% of its land is covered in ice and snow. Antarctica is home to the largest and thickest sheets of ice on earth. The ice is nearly one mile thick in some spots!

Antarctica was likely part of a supercontinent that existed before the global flood. When the fountains of the deep burst open (Genesis 7:11), the supercontinent would have broken up, eventually resulting in the separate continents and islands we have today.

After the global flood, the oceans were warmer, and the air temperatures were cooler. These conditions resulted in colder temperatures, which likely caused the ice age. During the ice age, about one-third of earth’s surface was covered in ice sheets and glaciers. Antarctica is still frozen over with ice because the continent’s surface is at a low angle to the incoming sunlight (think of how much cooler it is when the sun is setting, versus when it is straight overhead). Plus the snow and ice reflect most of the sunlight Antarctica does receive. Brrr!

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