January 11, 2002
Antarctica facts and figures
Nobody owns Antarctica.
Under the 1957 Antarctic Treaty, the 14-million-square-kilometer continent is
a natural reserve devoted to research.
There are no permanent
human settlements but hundreds of scientists and support staff live in year-round
research stations. Cruise ships bring an estimated 12,000 visitors each year.
Ninety-eight per
cent of Antarctica is covered in ice, and in some areas, the ice is as deep
as four kilometres. If the ice cap melted, the Earths ocean level would
rise about 50 metres. A seven-million-square-kilometre land mass lies beneath
the ice cap.
The Antarctic waters
are home to humpback whales, fin whales and blue whales, penguins, albatross
and seals.
Temperatures can
drop to -48 C inland in July (winter) and rise to 10 C in December (summer).
The frigid waters
surrounding the continent contain some of the worlds most biologically
diverse marine life.
The Antarctic has
one newspaper, Antarctic Sun and at least one radio station.
(Source: National Geographic,
December 2001)
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