# What does the white indicate on this map

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-white-indicate-on-this-map/982421>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 9, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-white-indicate-on-this-map/982421 "2023-04-09T16:30:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-white-indicate-on-this-map/982421/21 "2023-04-10T16:03:17Z")

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> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> At the same time the ground the is literally drowned under mile(s) of water.

Fun and scary facts - at its thickest the ice is almost 3 miles thick and averages about 1.3 miles of ice thickness. (4776 and 2160 m respectively.) “90 percent of all the world’s ice and 70 percent of all the world’s fresh water.” ([Source](https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/antarct/science/icesheet.jsp)) Losing ice mass at an [accelerating pace.](https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/20100108_Is_Antarctica_Melting.html)

And desert. Had learned that from one my kids’ kid science mags decades ago.

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**Author:** ![Beesnest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@Beesnest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beesnest)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-white-indicate-on-this-map/982421/22 "2023-04-10T17:09:27Z")

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I liked the lack of vegetation reply. Means so many things.  
I wandered around the encyclopedia of Google for a while. I knew of the Kalahari but didn’t know really where it was.

And the bird I thought was named Cassowary is a shoebill stork. Both amazing

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**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-white-indicate-on-this-map/982421/23 "2023-04-11T05:46:39Z")

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> [@Hampshire](#):
>
> Sounds like areas marked void of vegetation.

+1  
Click the bottom LHS button/square to show the satellite image and the map changes to distinguish areas without vegetation because of low temperature and those devoid of vegetation due to lack of water which would likely be more intuitive

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