Who owns the Arctic (north pole) at the moment? Where is the Arctic, Antarctica and Antarctica: main differences and interesting facts Antarctica who owns the territory

Antarctica was officially discovered on January 16 (28), 1820 by a Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, who approached it at 69°21′ S on the sloops Vostok and Mirny. w. 2°14′ W d. (G) (O) (region of the modern Bellingshausen ice shelf). Previous existence of the southern continent (lat. Terra Australis) was stated hypothetically, it was often combined with South America (for example, on the map compiled by Piri Reis in 1513) and Australia (named after the “southern continent”). However, it was the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev in the south polar seas, circumnavigating the Antarctic ice around the world, that confirmed the existence of a sixth continent.

The first to set foot on the continental part were on January 24, 1895, the captain of the Norwegian ship "Antarctic" Christensen and natural science teacher Karsten Borchgrevink.

Status of Antarctica

Cape Hanna In accordance with the Antarctic Convention, signed on December 1, 1959 and entered into force on June 23, 1961, Antarctica does not belong to any state. Only scientific activities are permitted.

The placement of military facilities, as well as the entry of warships and armed vessels south of 60 degrees latitude are prohibited. In the 80s of the 20th century, Antarctica was also declared a nuclear-free zone, which excluded the appearance of nuclear-powered ships in its waters, and nuclear power units on the mainland. Currently, 28 states (with voting rights) and dozens of observer countries are parties to the treaty.

Mainland Antarctica

Antarctica is considered the coldest continent on our planet. Antarctica is also called the part of the world that includes the mainland itself and the adjacent islands. In this article we will consider Antarctica as a continent. This continent was discovered by a Russian expedition in January 1820. The continent is located in the very south of the planet. Translated from Greek, Antarctica means “opposite the Arctic” or “opposite the north.” Approximately the center of the continent is located at the location of the Earth's south pole. The continent is washed by the southern part of the waters of three oceans: the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean; since 2000, this territory of waters has become known as the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is characterized by strong winds and storms.

The area of this continent is approximately 14.107 million km2. In terms of its average height (2040 m), Antarctica ranks first among the continents. The only thing that should be taken into account is that this height is achieved thanks to glaciers, while the land of this continent is located much lower than this figure. Therefore, the first place in terms of land height is given to the Eurasian continent. And in the central part, the ice cover can reach more than 4,000 meters in height. If we compare the amount of ice on Antarctica with the ice reserves on the entire planet, then Antarctica contains 90% of all the planet's ice reserves. Also, 80% of the total fresh water on the planet is stored in these Ice. If all the continent's glaciers melt, this will lead to an increase in water levels in all oceans by 60 meters, and Antarctica itself will become an archipelago (a collection of islands).

Relief

Antarctica is the highest continent on Earth; the average height of the continent's surface above sea level is more than 2000 m, and in the center of the continent it reaches 4000 meters. Most of this height is made up of a permanent ice cover of the continent, under which the continental relief is hidden and only 0.3% (about 40 thousand km²) of its area is free from ice - mainly in West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains: islands, sections of the coast, etc. n. “dry valleys” and individual ridges and mountain peaks (nunataks) rising above the icy surface.

The Transantarctic Mountains, crossing almost the entire continent, divide Antarctica into two parts - West Antarctica and East Antarctica, which have different origins and geological structures. In the east there is a high (highest elevation of the ice surface ~4100 m above sea level) ice-covered plateau. The western part consists of a group of mountainous islands connected by ice. On the Pacific coast are the Antarctic Andes, whose altitude exceeds 4000 m; the highest point on the continent is 5140 m above sea level - the Vinson Massif in the Ellsworth Mountains. In West Antarctica there is also the deepest depression of the continent - the Bentley Basin, probably of rift origin. The depth of the ice-filled Bentley Trench reaches 2555 m below sea level.

Subglacial relief

Research using modern methods has made it possible to learn more about the subglacial topography of the southern continent. As a result of research, it turned out that about a third of the continent lies below the level of the world ocean; research also showed the presence of mountain ranges and massifs.

The western part of the continent has complex terrain and large elevation changes. Here are the highest mountain (Vinson Mountain 5140 m) and the deepest depression (Bentley Trough −2555 m) in Antarctica. The Antarctic Peninsula is a continuation of the South American Andes, which stretch towards the south pole, slightly deviating from it to the western sector.

The eastern part of the continent has a predominantly smooth topography, with individual plateaus and mountain ranges up to 3–4 km high. In contrast to the western part, which is composed of young Cenozoic rocks, the eastern part is a protrusion of the crystalline foundation of a platform that was previously part of Gondwana.

The continent has relatively low volcanic activity. The largest volcano is Mount Erebus on Ross Island in the sea of the same name.

Studies of subglacial relief conducted by NASA have discovered a crater of asteroid origin in Antarctica. The diameter of the crater is 482 km. The crater was formed when an asteroid with a diameter of about 48 kilometers (larger than Eros) fell to Earth, approximately 250 million years ago, in the Permian-Triassic period. The asteroid did not cause much harm to the nature of the Earth, but the dust raised during the fall led to centuries-long cooling and the death of most of the flora and fauna of that era. This crater is currently considered the largest on Earth.

Ice sheet

The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest on our planet and is approximately 10 times larger in area than the next largest, the Greenland Ice Sheet. It contains ~30 million km³ of ice, that is, 90% of all land ice. Due to the severity of the ice, as studies by geophysicists show, the continent subsided by an average of 0.5 km, as indicated by its relatively deep shelf. The ice sheet in Antarctica contains about 80% of all fresh water on the planet; if it melted completely, sea levels would rise by almost 60 meters (for comparison, if the Greenland ice sheet were to melt, sea levels would rise by only 8 meters).

The ice sheet has a dome shape with increasing surface steepness towards the coast, where it is framed in many places by ice shelves. The average thickness of the ice layer is 2500–2800 m, reaching a maximum value in some areas of East Antarctica - 4800 m. The accumulation of ice on the ice sheet leads, as in the case of other glaciers, to the flow of ice into the ablation (destruction) zone, which acts as continental coast; the ice breaks off in the form of icebergs. The annual volume of ablation is estimated at 2500 km³.

A special feature of Antarctica is the large area of ice shelves (low (blue) areas of West Antarctica), which accounts for ~10% of the area above sea level; these glaciers are the source of icebergs of record sizes, significantly exceeding the size of the icebergs of the outlet glaciers of Greenland; for example, in 2000, the largest currently known iceberg (2005), B-15, with an area of over 10 thousand km², broke off from the Ross Ice Shelf. In winter (summer in the Northern Hemisphere), the area of sea ice around Antarctica increases to 18 million km², and in summer it decreases to 3–4 million km².

The ice cover of Antarctica formed about 14 million years ago, which was apparently facilitated by the rupture of the bridge connecting South America and the Antarctic Peninsula, which led, in turn, to the formation of the Antarctic circumpolar current (Western Wind Current) and the isolation of Antarctic waters from The World Ocean - these waters make up the so-called Southern Ocean.

Climate

On the coast, especially in the area of the Antarctic Peninsula, the air temperature in summer reaches -10 -12 C, and on average in the warmest month (January) it is 1 C, 2 C.

In winter (July) on the coast, the average monthly temperature ranges from -8 on the Antarctic Peninsula to -35 C at the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.

Due to the predominance of downdrafts, the relative air humidity is low (60–80%), near the coast and, especially in the Antarctic oases, it decreases to 20 and even 5%. There is also relatively little cloud cover. Precipitation falls almost exclusively in the form of snow: in the center of the continent its amount reaches 30–50 mm per year, in the lower part of the continental slope it increases to 600–700 mm, decreases slightly at its foot (to 400–500 mm) and increases again by some ice shelves and on the northwestern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula (up to 700–800 and even 1000 mm). Due to strong winds and heavy snowfall, snowstorms are very frequent.

Despite global warming, temperatures in Antarctica have dropped significantly over the past 35 years. Surface air temperatures drop by 0.7°C every ten years. The overall drop in temperature in Antarctica is a mystery to scientists because most climate change scenarios suggest that the planet's polar regions would be affected by global warming faster and more intensely. In the 21st century, the melting of Antarctica is considered unlikely. It is possible that the Antarctic ice cover will even increase due to large amounts of precipitation. However, the melting of Antarctica is possible in the coming centuries, especially if humanity fails to slow down the process of global warming in advance.

Inland waters

Due to the fact that not only average annual temperatures, but also even summer ones in most areas, temperatures in Antarctica do not exceed zero degrees, precipitation there falls only in the form of snow (rain is an extremely rare occurrence). It forms an ice cover (snow is compressed under its own weight) with a thickness of more than 1700 m, in some places reaching 4300 m. Up to 90% of all fresh water on Earth is concentrated in Antarctic ice.

In the 1990s of the 20th century, Russian scientists discovered the subglacial non-freezing Lake Vostok - the largest of the Antarctic lakes, having a length of 250 km and a width of 50 km; the lake holds about 5,400 thousand km³ of water.

In January 2006, geophysicists Robin Bell and Michael Studinger from the American Lamont-Doherty Geophysical Observatory discovered the second and third largest subglacial lakes, with an area of 2000 km² and 1600 km², respectively, located at a depth of about 3 km from the surface of the continent. They reported that this could have been done earlier if data from the 1958–1959 Soviet expedition had been analyzed more thoroughly. In addition to these data, satellite data, radar readings and measurements of the force of gravity on the surface of the continent were used. In total, as of 2007, more than 140 subglacial lakes were discovered in Antarctica.

Flora of Antarctica

The flora of Antarctica, due to special climatic conditions, is extremely poor. The largest number of algae here is about 700 species. The coast of the mainland and its ice-free plains are covered with mosses and lichens. But there are only two types of flowering plants. These are Colobanthus Quito and Antarctic meadowweed.

Colobanthus quito belongs to the carnation family. This is a cushion-shaped herbaceous plant with small white and pale yellow flowers. The height of an adult plant does not exceed 5 cm.

Antarctic meadow grass belongs to the grass family. It grows only in areas of land well illuminated by the sun. Meadow bushes can grow up to 20 cm. The plant itself tolerates frost well. Frosts do not harm the plant even during flowering.

All Antarctic plants have successfully adapted to the eternal cold. Their cells contain little water, and all processes occur very slowly.

Fauna of Antarctica

The peculiarity of the fauna of Antarctica is directly related to its climate. All animals live only where there is vegetation. Despite the severity of climatic conditions, a person was even born in Antarctica (this happened in 1978). And excavations have shown that dinosaurs once lived on this continent.

Conventionally, all Antarctic animals can be divided into two groups: terrestrial and aquatic, and there are no completely terrestrial animals in Antarctica.

The waters around the mainland are rich in zooplankton, which is the main food for whales and seals, fur seals and penguins. Ice fish also live here - amazing creatures that have adapted to life in icy water.

Of the large animals, blue whales most often visit the shores of Antarctica, which are attracted here by the abundance of shrimp. The fresh waters of the lakes are inhabited by roundworms and blue-green algae, copepods and daphnia are found.

The world of birds is represented by penguins, Arctic terns and skuas. There are 4 species of penguins in Antarctica. The largest population is of emperor penguins. Petrels also fly to the southern continent.

There are also few mammals. These are mainly animals that can live on land and in water. There are the most seals in Antarctica. The coast is also home to leopard seals, elephant seals and Rossa seals. Of the dolphin family, only small groups of black-and-white or sand-colored dolphins, known among whalers as “sea cows,” are found.

What there are a lot of here are invertebrate arthropods. In Antarctica, 67 species of ticks and 4 species of lice were found. There are fleas, lice eaters and the ubiquitous mosquitoes. And the wingless, jet-black ringing mosquitoes live only in Antarctica. These are the only endemic insects that can be classified as completely land animals. Most insects and invertebrates were brought to the shores of the southern continent by birds.

Sights of Antarctica

Glaciers of Antarctica. A popular destination in Antarctica is Paradise Harbour. Watching the huge blocks of centuries-old glaciers and icebergs from the boards of inflatable boats is a spectacular sight.
Islands of Antarctica. There is a place in Antarctica that is of particular interest to volcanologists, hunters and travelers - Deception Island. It is an extinct volcano and has the shape of a horseshoe.
Bloody Falls. An unusual attraction for icy Antarctica is the Bloody Falls. Streams of red water with a high concentration of salts and iron oxide flow down the surface of the glacier, originating in one of the Antarctic lakes.
Whalers Church. Another famous place in Antarctica is the Whalers Church, built in the neo-Gothic style back in 1913 next to the whaling station. Despite its full functionality, after restoration in 1998 it is practically not used today, but has been preserved for posterity as a monument.
Mountains of Antarctica. The Queen Maud group of mountain ranges rises 3 thousand meters above sea level. The system was discovered by the expedition of R. Amundsen, receiving the name in honor of the Norwegian Queen.
Drake Passage. Drake Passage was named after an English pirate sailor who sailed through this place in mid-1578. It is the deepest and widest strait in the world.
Catholic Church. The Catholic Church, located in an ice cave, is located at the Belgrano Arctic research base. This is the “coldest” temple among all religions known on earth.
Penguins in Antarctica. And, of course, the most important and beautiful attraction of Antarctica is the king penguins, without which it is impossible to imagine this region.

Tourism in Antarctica

Given the extremely difficult climatic conditions in Antarctica, tourism here is completely dependent on the season and is possible only for a few months of the year. In general, this period is from November to March, but certain types of tours to Antarctica are carried out only at the “crown” of the southern hemisphere summer.

Cruises to the Antarctic regions (South Shetland and Falkland Islands, South Georgia archipelago, Antarctic Peninsula and continental seas) operate from November to March. Cruises to the eastern part of Antarctica, where the huge Ross Ice Shelf is located and memorial sites dedicated to the history of the conquest of the continent, are available in January-February, when the ice melts here. Conquering the South Pole by plane (option: by plane and skis) is possible only at the peak of the Antarctic summer - in December-January.

Video

Sources

https://tonkosti.ru/Antarctica https://seasons-goda.rf/nature of Antarctica.html http://chudesnyemesta.ru/antarktida-dostoprimechatelnosti/

Where are the Arctic and Antarctic located? And how do these areas of the Earth differ from each other? This question puzzles many people, even if they diligently studied geography at school. Our article will help answer it.

Difference between the Arctic and Antarctic

A fairly popular one goes like this: “Do polar bears eat penguins?” The brain of an adult immediately begins to build a logical chain of thoughts. Pictures from school textbooks come to mind, where both animals are depicted against the backdrop of eternal ice and harsh winter landscapes. A person reasons like this: polar bears are predators, and penguins are rather clumsy birds, easy prey. Therefore, the former should happily feast on the latter.

However, everything is not like that at all! Not everyone will realize that these animals cannot be found in the wild at all, since they live in completely different parts of the world. One of them is the Arctic, and the other is the Antarctic. Therefore, they can only see each other in some zoo.

Where the Arctic and Antarctica are located - this will be discussed further. What are the features of the nature, climate and organic world of these areas?

Where is the Arctic? Brief description of the area

What is the difference between the Arctic, Antarctica and Antarctica? Let's try to understand this geographical issue.

Where is the Arctic located on the globe? In what part of the world should you look for it?

At the very beginning, we need to remember that our planet Earth has two poles that are diametrically opposed to each other - North and South. This will help you better navigate where the Arctic is and where the Antarctic is.

So, the Arctic is the polar region of the Earth, directly adjacent to its North Pole. Geographically, it covers the ends of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The Arctic also includes the outskirts of Eurasia and North America, as well as numerous islands.

Sometimes this physical-geographical macroregion is limited from the south. The area of the region, depending on the location of its southern borders, ranges from 21 to 27 million square kilometers.

Now you know where the Arctic is. What was it like for man to master it? And when did it start?

The history of the conquest of the Arctic and the North Pole

The Arctic has been inhabited for a long time. This is evidenced by numerous archaeological finds. Thus, man first appeared on the shores of the Arctic Ocean 30 thousand years ago. However, later he began to be pulled further north. There were also daredevils who wanted to conquer the Earth's pole.

Serious and systematic study of the area began in the second half of the 19th century. The most famous polar explorer of that time is the Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen. In particular, he went down in history by being the first to cross the ice shell of Greenland, the largest island on the planet. This happened in 1889.

Robert Peary is another important name in history. In 1908-1909, he organized an expedition that reached the North Pole for the first time. Interestingly, the goal of this campaign was only this record. The expedition did not conduct any scientific research.

7 amazing facts about the Arctic

The Arctic is an amazing region that is full of secrets, mysteries and unusual natural phenomena. Below are the most interesting facts about him:

The organic world of the Arctic, despite such a harsh climate, is quite rich. Huge expanses of ice are densely populated by polar bears, arctic foxes, lemmings, reindeer, dozens of species of birds and other animals. You can even meet an ordinary crow here!
Five states at once claim their rights to the Arctic, including Russia;
The Arctic shelf, according to rough estimates by scientists, hides over 100 billion tons of gas and oil;
About 50 million years ago, the Arctic climate was significantly milder. The water in the Arctic Ocean in those days warmed up in the summer to +15...18 degrees!
The Arctic is the region of the Earth that is most vulnerable to worldwide global warming;
Deserts exist not only in the tropical zone, but also in the Arctic. Only here they are called Arctic;
The very first voyage through Arctic waters was made by the ancient Greek Pytheas back in the 4th century BC.

Antarctica and Antarctica - where are they?

Geographers call Antarctica the southern circumpolar region of the Earth, which is located on the opposite side of the planet from the Arctic. It includes a huge landmass - the continent of Antarctica, as well as the southern ends of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans (many foreign scientists also identify in this area the fifth ocean of the Earth - the Southern).

The northern border of Antarctica is quite arbitrary. Most often it is carried out along the edge of the zone of floating ice (between 50-55 degrees south latitude). Thus, the total area of Antarctica is significantly larger than the Arctic, and is about 60 million square kilometers.

Antarctica, as mentioned above, is the sixth continent of planet Earth - the southernmost and coldest.

History of the discovery and development of Antarctica

Already in the 18th century, people assumed that there was another continent in the south of our planet. James Cook was the first to search for it in 1775. During his circumnavigation, he came close to the mysterious “Southland”, discovering the South Sandwich Islands.

The discovery of the continent of Antarctica took place in 1820 during the expedition of Russian navigators F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev. After this, a series of discoveries and mapping of various seas, islands and lands in Antarctica began.

In 1911, two expeditions at once (one led by Roald Amundsen, the other by Robert Scott) set off to conquer the South Pole of the Earth. But luck smiled on only one of the groups of desperate daredevils. On December 14, 1911, Amundsen planted the Norwegian flag at the pole point. Scott's group reached the goal of the expedition 27 days later, and all its members died on the way back.

The continent of Antarctica has significant mineral resource potential. However, the countries of the world signed an agreement on the “inviolability” of the continent’s subsoil until 2048.

7 Amazing Facts About Antarctica

We bring to your attention 7 interesting facts about Antarctica and Antarctica:

Antarctica is the coldest continent on the planet. In the 80s, the lowest temperature on Earth was recorded at the Soviet polar station “Vostok” (-89 degrees);
Antarctica is also the highest continent on the planet (primarily due to its massive ice cap, which in some places reaches a thickness of 1-1.5 km);
Antarctica is the windiest and driest place on Earth (and this despite the fact that it contains up to 70% of all the world's fresh water);
Antarctica is the only continent without a permanent population;
There are 6 species of penguins in Antarctica. Among them are emperor penguins, which are distinguished by their large size;
Huge blocks of ice periodically break off from Antarctic ice shelves. One of these was formed in 2000 and set off for free swimming. Its length reached 300 kilometers!
There are no time zones in Antarctica. Scientists staying here live according to the time of their states.

Arctic and Antarctic Museum

Do you know where it is? Many people are not even aware of the existence of such an institution. It turns out that such a museum exists!

It is located in the city of St. Petersburg, in the building of the former St. Nicholas Edinoverie Church (Marata Street, 24a). In 1930, the temple was closed and this unusual museum was opened within its walls. It introduces visitors to the history of the development and study of the Arctic and Antarctic.

The museum exhibits include polar explorers' equipment, unique instruments, rare photographs, models of ships and icebreakers, as well as numerous paintings by artists depicting the wild and harsh nature of the Earth's circumpolar regions.

Finally

Where are the Arctic, Antarctic and Antarctic? Now you can easily answer this question and show the above areas on the globe. Despite the distance of thousands of kilometers between the Arctic and Antarctic, there is much in common between them. Both parts of the planet are extremely cold, there is a lot of snow, icebergs and ice, and virtually no vegetation.

In the first half of the 20th century coast of Antarctica visited more than a hundred expeditions from different countries. At the same time, almost everyone put up a “claim pillar”, considering the landing site to be the territory of their country.

Countries of Antarctica

In 1959, twelve countries: Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, USSR, USA, France, Chile, South Africa and Japan signed the international Antarctic Treaty.

It said that governments, aware of the importance of the Ice Continent for all humanity, consider its territory equally accessible for the development of international cooperation on the basis of freedom of scientific research. The contract must provide use of Antarctica only for peaceful purposes. Under these conditions, the continuation of international harmony in Antarctica will contribute to the implementation of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

Thirty-three more countries later joined this Treaty. It was necessary to draw up an additional Convention, which defined concept of the Antarctic shelf and some articles of the Treaty were clarified in accordance with changes in the economic and political situation in the world. Taking advantage of the fact that Antarctica was a virtually undeveloped country and in the 1959 Treaty there was no concept of the shelf, some countries tried to expand their state sovereignty to new territories...

For example, Australia in 2004 claimed its national rights to areas of the Antarctic continental shelf adjacent to Australia’s “national sector” area on the sixth continent. They say that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea has determined the possibility of declaring state sovereignty over, which is adjacent to the land territory of the state, why not extend it to Antarctica?..

Whose Antarctica

But the International Antarctic Community strongly opposed Australia's statement, regarding it as a violation of the principles according to which scientific stations of all countries in Antarctica operate regardless of the boundaries of “national sectors”.

Look through good and interesting material: washes Antarctica.

In accordance with the Antarctic Convention, signed in 1959. Antarctica does not belong to any state; the only type of activity allowed on its territory is scientific. Then 12 countries put forward claims to the territory: Australia, Argentina, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, France, Chile, Peru, Russia (USSR), the USA and South Africa, Japan and a number of other countries.

Since then, the territory of Antarctica has been divided into sectors, according to which these countries have the right to open scientific stations. In general, it is tacitly accepted that maintaining superpower status is strategically important:

Space exploration

Presence of nuclear weapons

Exploration of Antarctica

The presence and maintenance of stations in Antarctica is strategically significant. Alas, people don’t come here for big money. The salaries of Russian and Ukrainian polar scientists are more than modest; special enthusiastic people come here. To some extent, these are hermits. We stopped at one of the stations, they gave us a tour, and after that we invited the bearded polar explorers to come to our ship for lunch. So this is what struck me - they are absolutely detached from this world and, it seems, do not suffer from the lack of civilization. They seem to exist in a parallel reality, they are not interested in news from the mainland, they are silent and, if I may say so, unsociable.

It is interesting that the neighboring countries have not agreed to the terms of the convention and the sectors introduced and are waging their struggle to seize territories in a very sophisticated way! For example, in Argentina, in geography lessons, children learn from maps on which the names of the territory near Antarctica differ from international standards and have completely different names. Children have known since school that part of Antarctica belongs to their country.

The Convention is grossly violated by the Japanese, who, despite the ban, continue to engage in whaling. Moreover, there was already a scandal where the international community presented its claims to them. In response, the Japanese converted the ships into scientific stations, but they still continue to engage in fishing, because whales are a delicacy for them.

Antarctica is an amazing continent that is located opposite the Arctic. The central part of Antarctica falls on the geographic center of the south of the Earth.

The southernmost continent of the planet is simultaneously washed by three of the five oceans, including the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific. Among geographers and travelers, these three oceans are informally called the Southern Ocean.

In contact with

total area totals 14,107 thousand km2, where the islands account for approximately 75.5 thousand km2 and 930 thousand km2 for ice shelves.

Antarctica has a lot of distinctive features from other continents. Here the lowest air temperature with low humidity levels, high radiation (solar) against the background of the highest intensity and duration of wind flows.

Under the concept of Antarctica Not only the mainland itself is affected, but also several nearby islands.

The Romanized version of the name "Antarctica" comes from the Greek word translated as "opposite the Arctic or north", which Aristotle mentioned in his writings (Meteorology).

Apart from being mentioned by Aristotle, the existence of the continent was hypothesized by geographers. And sometimes it was even combined with Australia and South America on some maps. But thanks to the circumnavigation of Russian sailors, the existence of another continent became known for certain.

For the first time, he marked the entire area of the continent on the world map. Englishman John Murray entitled "The Proposed Antarctic Continent" in 1886.

This continent was officially named Antarctica in 1890 by the famous Scottish cartographer D. D. Bartholomew.

Which traveler discovered Antarctica?

The discoverers of the southernmost continent are Russian navigators, who, during their round-the-world cruise, discovered new lands, later called the “continent of ice.”

Names of famous Russian navigators:

M.P. Lazarev;
F. F. Bellingshausen.

This event took place in 1820 during an Antarctic trip around the world. The discoverers named the discovered lands “Ice Continent,” but 20 years later, with the light hand of the American explorer and naval officer Charles Wilkes, the continent received its new name – “Antarctic Continent.”

Date of discovery of Antarctica 01/16/1820

Russian expedition under the leadership of F. Bellingshausen and M. Lazarev stepped onto the glacial lands, approaching the shores on the Mirny and Vostok boats. The landing site is currently called the Bellingshausen shelf.

The journey began back in 1819, when Russian travelers visited South Georgia on sloops. Thus, M. Lazarev and F. Bellingshausen penetrated the waters of the Arctic Ocean to the Greenwich meridian at 69°21′, where modern Antarctica is located. Moreover, Bellingshausen was the first navigator to complete a full circle around the continent between latitudes 60-70°.

How did the polar expedition proceed?

The scientific expedition achieved the incredible - it circumnavigated the entire globe on the ice of the South Pole and was the first to descend to the lands of the continent. Specific individuals who felt the Antarctic soil under their feet were members of a naval expedition led by Bellingshausen and Lazarev. The discovery of the new continent took place on 01/28/1820 according to the old style.

After lengthy preparation, two warships set off on a polar expedition from Kronstadt, the Vostok was under the leadership of F. Bellingshausen, and the Mirny was led by M. Lazarev. The polar explorers had a clear task - to penetrate as far as possible to the south pole and find out the truth about the existence of a new continent.

During the journey, the discoverer of Antarctica, Bellingshausen, had to stay in the Portsmouth port of England to replenish supplies of provisions and necessary equipment.

And already in the fall, ships, under favorable winds, were heading to Brazil along the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. All observations and current events were recorded in the logbook, which indicated that on the 21st day of the voyage, the sloops dropped anchor off the coast. After the ships set sail from the coast of Brazil, they headed for the cold waters of the Arctic Circle, and at the end of 1819 they were already near the island of South Georgia.

The sloops moved very carefully among the floating ice and drifting icebergs. Bellingshausen made futile attempts to measure the depth of the waters.

At the beginning of 1820 The sailors stumbled upon the first island unknown to the world, which was later named after the name of Lieutenant Annenkov, who described these lands. Then, on the way of the brave sailors, they encountered the islands of Zavadsky and Leskov, which also received their names in honor of the members of the expedition.

Afterwards the boat sailed to the open island group Traverse (named after the minister). Afterwards the islands of Sretenia and Sadvichevye were discovered (the latter turned out to be an archipelago).

Thanks to Russian navigators on the geographical map of the world The South Sandwich Islands appeared. And by the end of the first month of 1820, the sailors came across ice stretching for many kilometers ahead to the very horizon.

During the circumnavigation of the world, which lasted 751 days, 92,000 km were covered on sloops. The expedition members managed to discover 30 new islands, among which one turned out to be a coral reef. The unknown Antarctica began to take shape on the world map around the South Pole, and thanks to the research carried out, a new science was born - oceanography.

Thanks to a number of trips around the world that were made by sailors from different countries, science was enriched with many new facts and greatest discoveries. The discovery of the continent of Antarctica is one of the most important discoveries of the early 19th century. Until scientists had compelling reasons to mark a new continent on the map, they were a “blank spot” of the supposed continent of the southern lands.

Interest in Antarctica among foreign navigators

After this, travelers from various countries discovered new lands of Antarctica and included them in maps. Thus, C. Wilkes walked from eastern longitude 97-158°, J. Dumont-D'Urville discovered the new Adélie Lands for everyone, a navigator from Great Britain became the discoverer of Victoria Land and the Ross Sea.

Antarctica attracted travelers from various countries. A lot of expeditions were sent to this continent, many of which ended tragically. There was even a serious struggle between some Antarctic expeditions for the championship of conquest of the South Pole. Thus, it is believed that the first conquerors were travelers led by Raoul Amundsen.

And already in the middle of the 20th century, Antarctica began to be studied for reasons of industrial interest.

Who owns Antarctica

There are many who want to own an entire continent, but Antarctica does not belong to any state. In 1959, on the first day of December, a convention on the fate of Antarctica was signed, according to which only scientific research activities can be carried out on this continent. This international document came into force in 1961 on June 23. The convention was signed by 50 different states that have voting rights. This normative act is supported by a dozen more countries that have observer status.

But, as it turned out, owning a state and claiming its territory are two different things. Many countries have territorial claims to the lands of Antarctica, whose sailors visited the mainland during expeditions. So, claims to significant territories:

Norway;
Great Britain;
New Zealand;
Australia;
Argentina;
and other countries.

China, the USA, and Russia have not yet made official statements regarding claims in Antarctica, but this does not mean that they will not do so in the future. Currently, these three states and some others have polar stations that are diligently conducting research activities to discover natural resources, among other things. Compatriots know the Russian polar station called “Vostok”, “Bellingshausen”, “Druzhnaya”, “Leningradskaya”, “Mirny”, Molodezhnaya”, etc.

Antarctica, Wikipedia confirms this, is currently the only continent that remains completely uninhabited by people. Although in these lands there are a lot of scientific bases and abandoned whaler settlements. Geologists have confirmed in Antarctica huge deposits of natural resources and fresh water, which humanity will soon need.

The difficult climate of Antarctica is not conducive to the permanent settlement of the continent by inhabitants. Among the temporary settlers, geologists and scientists (including Russian ones), one can count 4000-1000 people, depending on the time of year.

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