Antarctica is a cold, dry continent with less than 2% ice and subject to the Antarctic Treaty, which prohibits military use and nuclear waste disposal. Several nations have territorial claims, but the treaty supersedes them. Scientific research stations and tourism have increased in recent years.
Antarctica is the fifth largest continent on Earth, with over 5,400,000 square miles (14,000,000 square km), of which less than 110,000 square miles (280,000 square km) is ice, only about 2%. The continent lies mainly within the Antarctic Circle at the southern tip of the Earth. It is consistently cold and dry: its low level of water in the air makes much of the continent the largest desert on Earth.
Unlike most land on Earth, much of Antarctica has not been officially claimed by any nation. Instead, much of the continent is subject to what’s called the Antarctic Treaty, with the terms of that treaty defining how the land can be used by various nations. In many ways, its territorial status is more closely related to that of the moon or outer space than that of any nation on Earth.
By treaty, this continent can only be used for peaceful purposes by any nation. No weapons tests may take place on the continent and no military may serve non-peaceful purposes there. The treaty also states that no nation can dispose of nuclear waste in Antarctica, that a scientific exchange should take place, that no nation will be able to claim the territory, and that nations will have the right to freely observe anything on it. Later additions to the treaty protect the continent’s wildlife, in line with the goal of protecting it as a zone of scientific peace and protection on Earth.
Indeed, some nations made territorial claims to Antarctica prior to the Antarctic Treaty in 1961. Argentina, France, Australia, Chile, Norway, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom all have existing territorial claims over small sections of the continent, dating from 1908 to 1943. Many of these territorial claims overlap, but for the most part the claims are superseded by the Antarctic treaty. Furthermore, although the treaty denies the right of any state to make future claims to the territory of Antarctica, both the United States and the former Soviet Union have affirmed their right to make such claims if they choose.
The existence of the continent was rumored for centuries before it was officially confirmed by Europeans. In some cases this belief was simply in a large southern landmass to balance the northern continents, in others it may have been based on early exploration. In the 1820s a number of vessels sighted mainland Antarctica from various locations. In 1821 an American hunting ship landed on the main continent. In the following decades various places along the coast continued to be “discovered”. However, exploring the interior would take some time. In 1907 Shackleton arrived at the magnetic South Pole and in 1911 Amundsen arrived at the geographic South Pole.
Various islands off the coast of Antarctica had temporary populations from the late 18th century onwards, but mainland bases for scientific research were not established until the 20th century. There are currently more than fifty research stations in the region, housing between 18 and 20 people, depending on the season. The United States keeps the most people on the continent, with around 1,000 during the summer season, followed by Chile and Argentina, with more than 4,000 each.
In recent years, Antarctic tourism has increased dramatically, with nearly 30,000 tourists visiting annually. These numbers continue to steadily increase, as tours become more common and the continent is portrayed more often in popular culture. Most Antarctic tours are for specific tourist experiences – like going to see the Aurora Australis or a penguin colony – but there are a number of more general tours on offer as well.
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