Antarctica

Ice-Free Islands. The melting of the ice has changed no continent so drastically as Antarctica. Previously encased in ice, the melting has revealed an archipelago of islands now covered in conifer forests. The weight of the ice for so long pushed the continent down. Over the next few thousand years, in a process once called isostatic rebound, the land will rise back up from that heavy weight. For now, though, the continent consists of a mainland and a series of scattered islands.

Becoming Native. As the globe grew warmer, people from South America and Africa moved south. By the time Antarctica opened up, though, most of the trappings of the old civilization had disappeared. Still, over the ensuing centuries, fearless coastal tribes explored the southern waters, and eventually migrated to the new continent. Antarctica remains the continent least populated by humans. The human tribes there have a shallow history, but they have devoted their energy to exploring the continent and the stories it tells, to become native to their new place.

Visit the forums for Antarctica in the Fifth World

Click on one of the continents for some of the major changes that took place there.