ATLAS

Verified factsOMEGA-11-4-4Sheet 4 of 8 of the dossier Ice wall

Antarctica: treaty, expeditions, overflights, tourism

A continent measured, crossed, overflown and visited, under a treaty of peace and science.

Black-and-white photo: two men in fur clothing on flat snow beneath a Norwegian flag; one bends over a wooden box, the other holds an instrument up to his eye.
At the South Pole, 14–17 December 1911: Roald Amundsen takes the altitude of the Sun while Helmer Hanssen checks the artificial horizon (National Library of Norway). Unknown authorUnknown author · public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Summary

Against the image of a sealed wall, this sheet sets out what is documented about Antarctica. It is a continent of about 14.2 million km², mostly buried under an ice sheet 1.9 km thick on average, with roughly 17,968 km of coastline. People have crossed it, lived on it and flown over it for more than a century. Roald Amundsen and four companions reached the South Pole on 14 December 1911, setting out from their Framheim base on the Great Ice Barrier; Robert Falcon Scott's party arrived on 17 January 1912 and died on the way back. In 1958 the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition led by Vivian Fuchs, with Edmund Hillary's support team, made the first overland crossing via the Pole: 3,473 km in 99 days. The US Amundsen–Scott station has been occupied at the Pole without a break since 1956.

The Antarctic Treaty, signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 by twelve countries and in force since 1961, now has 58 Parties. It keeps the continent for peaceful purposes, bans military bases, manoeuvres, weapons tests, nuclear explosions and radioactive waste, and guarantees freedom of scientific research south of 60° South. Access is regulated, not forbidden: sightseeing flights have overflown the continent since February 1977, and IAATO, the association of Antarctic tour operators, counted 122,072 visitors in the 2023–24 season.

Verified facts

  1. Verified fact

    Antarctica is a continent of about 14.2 million km², mostly covered by an ice sheet averaging 1.9 km thick, with roughly 17,968 km of coastline.

  2. Verified fact

    The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 by twelve countries, entered into force on 23 June 1961 and now has 58 Parties.

    • Antarctic Treaty System, Wikipedia
      The main treaty was opened for signature on 1 December 1959, and officially entered into force on 23 June 1961.
    • Traité sur l'Antarctique, Wikipedia
      signé le 1er décembre 1959 à Washington, D.C. aux États-Unis et en vigueur depuis le 23 juin 1961
    • The Antarctic Treaty, Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty
      signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 by the twelve countries
  3. Verified fact

    The Treaty reserves Antarctica for peaceful purposes: it bans military bases, manoeuvres and weapons tests as well as nuclear explosions and radioactive waste, guarantees freedom of scientific investigation and applies south of 60° South, ice shelves included.

    • The Antarctic Treaty (full text, 1959), Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty, 1 December 1959
      Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only. There shall be prohibited, inter alia, any measures of a military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military maneuvers, as well as the testing of any type of weapons.
    • Traité sur l'Antarctique, Wikipedia
      Toute mesure de nature militaire et non pacifique y est interdite.
  4. Verified fact

    Roald Amundsen and four companions reached the South Pole on 14 December 1911, starting from their Framheim base on the Great Ice Barrier; Robert Falcon Scott and four men got there on 17 January 1912 and all died on the way back, by 29 March.

  5. Verified fact

    The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, led by Vivian Fuchs with Edmund Hillary's support team, made the first overland crossing of Antarctica via the South Pole: 3,473 km in 99 days, arriving at Scott Base on 2 March 1958.

  6. Verified fact

    The US Amundsen–Scott station, built at the South Pole in November 1956, has been occupied without interruption ever since; in summer about 5,000 people live at the continent's research stations, around 1,000 in winter.

    • Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, Wikipedia
      built by Navy Seabees for the federal government of the United States during November 1956
    • Antarctica, Wikipedia
      During the summer months, about 5,000 people reside at research stations, a figure that drops to around 1,000 in the winter.
  7. Verified fact

    Sightseeing flights have overflown Antarctica since February 1977 (Qantas on the 13th, Air New Zealand on the 15th); in 1979 Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed on Mount Erebus, killing 257; today Boeing 787s from Australia spend up to 4 hours over the continent.

  8. Verified fact

    According to IAATO, the association of Antarctic tour operators, Antarctica received 122,072 visitors in the 2023–24 season.

An open typewritten document: a cover headed "Conference on Antarctica, Washington D.C." in four languages, and pages bearing the handwritten signatures of several countries' delegates.
One of the original copies of the Antarctic Treaty, signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 by twelve nations; a document from the Australian archives. Mbreen · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
A red-and-white striped post topped by a mirrored sphere stands in the snow, with national flags behind it and a long grey building on stilts under a deep blue sky.
The ceremonial South Pole in front of the elevated Amundsen–Scott station, 2007–2008 summer season, ringed by the flags of the twelve original signatories of the Antarctic Treaty (U.S. Antarctic Program, National Science Foundation). Bill Spindler, U.S. Antarctic Program, National Science Foundation · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Play on YouTube (third-party content)
United Nations video on the Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December 1959 by twelve nations to keep the continent for peaceful purposes and international scientific cooperation.
United Nations