Antarctica Facts

Fifty years ago today, twelve nations signed The Antarctic Treaty, regulating research activity, economic exploitation, and territorial claims in Antarctica. To mark this occasion, Annie C. Lee of Fast Company has compiled eleven interesting facts about the frozen continent:

3. Antarctica’s biggest population center is the U.S.-operated McMurdo Station. In the summer, the community can swell to more than 1,000 people; this past winter, there were just 153.

4. Antarctica’s two-letter Internet suffix is “.aq.” Internet access is via satellite; a dish on Black Island provides 10-MB-per-second service to McMurdo.

5. Tourism is one of Antarctica’s two main industries. Antarctica had 37,858 tourists last year. Most visitors arrived by sea — a typical 10-day cruise to the region runs from $5,000 to $10,000 per person — and nearly all landed on the Antarctic Peninsula. No ship carrying more than 500 passengers may land in Antarctica.

Link | Antarctic Treaty | Image: NASA