It is located near the center of East Antarctica, approximately midway between the enormous head of Lambert Glacier and the geographic South Pole, within the Australian claim.

[4] Dome A is a lofty ice prominence, the highest rooftop of the Antarctic Plateau, and the elevation visually is not noticeable.

Below this enormous dome, underneath at least 2,400 m (7,900 ft) of ice sheet, lies the Gamburtsev Mountain Range, about the size of the European Alps.

Due to this, as well as calm weather, this site is an excellent location to obtain ice core samples for the research of past climates.

[8] PLATO was designed and built by the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia to provide a platform from which astronomical observations and site-testing could be conducted.