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 Earth’s 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 world’s most biologically diverse marine life.

• The Antarctic has one newspaper, Antarctic Sun and at least one radio station.

(Source: National Geographic, December 2001)