| There
are no indigenous people on Antarctica. The population varies from
fewer than 1,000 in winter to almost 20,000 in summer: 5,000
scientists from 27 of the countries party to the Antarctic Treaty,
plus 14,000 tourists (1999/2000).
Antarctica
surrounds the South Pole. The nearest landmass is South America,
which is over 620 miles from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Surface
area 14 million square miles (36 million square kilometers).
There
is no indigenous government, management of the Antarctic is
organised through the legal framework of the Antarctic Treaty of
1959. Forty-three nations are now party to this agreement, and seven
of those - the UK, Norway, Chile, France, Australia, Argentina and
New Zealand - have historic claims on parts of the continent as
national territory. The 1959 Antarctic Treaty preserves the status
quo of the continent by neither recognizing nor rejecting the claims
of these countries and by not allowing expansion in any way on the
continent.
Antarctica
currently has no economic activity apart from offshore fishing and
tourism, and these are run by other nations (i.e. not the continent
of Antarctica)
Going
there on a tourist base:
The ships are ice strengthened and sail primarily to the Antarctic
Peninsula region sometimes also including South Georgia and the
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas).
There
have been occasional voyages to Antarctica by larger passenger
vessels (up to 960 tourists), some of which conduct sightseeing
cruises only without landings. Yacht travel is also very popular,
and gives a smaller scale more intimate contact, though often
without the luxuries and facilities of the larger Antarctica cruise
ship.
Several
expeditions take place outside the Peninsula region each season.
Voyages have been made to the Weddell Sea, Ross Sea region and, on
occasion, East Antarctica including islands of the Indian Ocean
sector. These expeditions have included visits to emperor penguin
colonies, historical huts, the Dry Valleys and other remote areas.
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