Antarctica has a total area of 13.9 × 106 km², of which 44 890 km² (0.32 percent) is ice-free (Fox and Cooper, 1994; British Antarctic Survey, 2005) with potential for soil development. Ice free areas are mainly confined to the Antarctic Peninsula, a few places around the perimeter of the continent and along the Transantarctic Mountains. The largest ice-free area (approximately 5 000 km²) is the McMurdo Dry Valleys in the Ross Sea Region.