The least studied and most inhospitable continent on Earth is Antarctica. The population of the continent ranges from 1 to 4 thousand people. Read about our main features, the history of development and the inhabitants of the “icy” continent in our article.
Antarctica: general information about the mainland and its resources
Almost everybody knows that this continent is the coldest on the planet. It was on its territory (at the Russian polar station "Vostok") that the lowest air temperature in the world was recorded - 89.2 degrees with a minus sign.
But few know about the other records of Antarctica. So, the mainland is also the driest, highest and windiest on Earth. Indeed, it was the lack of drinking water that was the main problem for everyone who dared to conquer the expanses of the continent called Antarctica. The population of the mainland is also distinguished by its features. However, this will be discussed later.
It should be noted that Antarctica and its natural resources do not belong to any of the modern states of the world. Although in the past centuries, many empires tried to establish their control over one or another part of the mainland. In 1991, the world community officially approved a special Protocol, one of the articles of which prohibits the conduct of any economic activity on the territory of Antarctica (in particular, on the development of its rich bowels). True, the inhabitants of the planet are already very acutely aware of the shortage of many mineral resources. Therefore, it is not known how long this protocol will be valid.
Antarctica: the population of the mainland and its characteristics
Seals, Arctic terns, skuas and emperor penguins - these are the most typical inhabitants of the cold continent. Until the beginning of the XIX century, geographers could safely read this list of animals, answering the question: “Who lives in Antarctica?” However, in 1820, everything changed dramatically: for the first time, the human foot set foot on the continent.
Who lives in Antarctica today? And what is the size of its total population?
It’s worth mentioning right away that there is no permanent population in Antarctica due to too extreme weather and climate conditions. This means that the mainland is inhabited only by scientists, attendants and tourists. They all stay here temporarily.
How many people are attracted to Antarctica? The population of the continent is about a thousand people in the winter season. In summer, its number can reach 4000 people. On the mainland, the most popular are English, French, Russian and Spanish.
In 1978, a human child was first born here. It was a citizen of Argentina Emilio Marcos Palma. But in 2007, the first wedding ceremony in history was held in Antarctica.
The history of the development of the mainland. Russian Antarctica
The history of the Russian development of the mainland began in 1819, when an expedition headed by Lazarev and Bellingshausen went south from Kronstadt. It was she who discovered the sixth continent for the world. The Russian Empire showed great interest in Antarctica in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, organizing several serious scientific expeditions.
In 1946, as some historians suggest, a serious military battle took place for Antarctica. After the end of World War II, then the allies - the USA and the USSR - sent powerful military squadrons to the shores of the continent. As a result, the American expedition returned far from its full complement. However, the details of this Antarctic battle are still shrouded in a mass of secrets and assumptions.
Russian Antarctic stations
Today, 30 states have their own research stations in Antarctica. Among them is Russia, which has seven such bases on the mainland. These are the Vostok, Progress, Bellingshausen, Novolazarevskaya, Molodezhnaya, Mirny and Leningradskaya stations. Each of them is interesting in its own way.
So, at the Vostok station in 1983, an absolute record of the lowest temperature on Earth was recorded. This is one of the most severe (in terms of weather) places on our planet. Recently, the "pole of cold" was decorated with a monument to Lenin - the southernmost in the world.
At another Russian station, Bellingshausen, the first Orthodox church on the mainland was built in 2004. But Novolazarevskaya boasts the only Russian bathhouse on the whole continent!
But the main center of Russian Antarctica today is the Progress station. It performs research, administrative and logistic functions. An excellent sports complex for polar explorers with a sauna, medical equipment and various exercise machines was created here.