Record #00290Nature archive
World's Largest Ice Sheet by Area
The Antarctic Ice Sheet, covering most of Antarctica, is Earth's largest ice sheet. Guinness World Records reports an area of 13.924 million km² including floating ice shelves.
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Current Record
about13.924 millionkm²
Current record value
- Holder
- Antarctic Ice Sheet
- Location
- Antarctica
- Start date
- —
- Record status
- VerifiedView verification details ↗Report an issue
Overview
Archive NoteAn ice sheet is an extensive mass of land ice exceeding 50,000 km². Earth's present-day ice sheets cover Antarctica and Greenland, and ice flows outward under gravity.
The Antarctic Ice Sheet comprises major East and West Antarctic ice masses. The National Snow and Ice Data Center describes its extent as nearly 14 million square kilometers and emphasizes its vast stores of freshwater ice.
This record differs from the largest desert and largest ice shelf: an ice sheet is defined as a large continental ice mass, while an ice shelf is a floating extension of land ice.
Record history
1 Milestones- about 13.924 million km²Antarctic Ice SheetAntarcticaCurrent Record
Sources
Evidence & ReferencesVerification basis and limitations
VerifiedThe record conclusion has sufficient verification support.
Verification explanation pending
- Last editorial review
- 2026-11-03
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