Compared to other continents, Antarctica remains the most untraveled by humans. The majority of human activity consists of scientific research explaining why most destinations are, in fact, stations and camps for researchers. The climate is so cold that some of these research stations are only open in the summer season.
Quite a few countries have laid claim to Antarctic land, but many of these claims are disputed. The only true means of reaching the continent is through work or through a tour operator. Individuals fortunate enough to reach the continent will be impressed by the icy white landscape and wonderful wildlife.
a continent located in the very south of the Earth, the center of which practically coincides with the South Pole of our planet. Antarctica is washed by the waters of the Southern Ocean, has an area of 14.4 million km2, 1.6 million km2 of which are ice shelves, which are sources of huge icebergs. The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest on the planet, it contains about 80% of all fresh water on Earth.
Geographically, the territory of Antarctica is divided into areas (lands) named after the travelers or famous people who discovered them: Queen Maud Land, Wilkes Land, Victoria Land, Mary Byrd Land, Ellsworth Land. Some adjacent islands belong to Antarctica.
The existence of the Southern Continent (from the Latin Terra Australis) was assumed for a very long time, on old maps it was often combined with South America or with Australia, which was named after this hypothetical part of the land. However, only the expedition of Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev in the south polar seas on the sloops “Vostok” and “Mirny” confirmed the existence of the sixth continent of the Earth. It happened on January 16 (28), 1820 (the official date of the discovery of Antarctica) in the area of the modern Bellingshausen ice shelf.
Antarctica does not belong to any state in accordance with the convention on December 1, 1959 (entered into force on June 23, 1961), signed by 28 states and dozens of observer countries.
In Antarctica, any kind of activity is prohibited, except for scientific. This includes the placement of military installations, entry into its waters (south of 60 degrees south latitude) of warships and armed vessels. In addition, Antarctica is a nuclear-free zone, so nuclear-powered ships are also banned, and there are no nuclear power units on the mainland.