Antarctica

Population & Culture

A trip to the South Pole is like taking a journey back in time...

Since the beginning of the 16th century, great explorers have dreamed of, imagined and grazed the lands of this lost continent, so difficult to access. Magellan, who passed so close as he reached the turn at Tierra del Fuego, imagined a Southern land linking the Americas to Australia. Even James Cook was unable to set foot on the continent when, in 1773, his expedition was blocked by impenetrable ice after crossing the Arctic Circle, which had accumulated during the cold season.

Following an initial landing in 1821 by American sealers, it was not until 1838 that French explorers in search of the magnetic South Pole set sail for the lost continent. On January 21, 1840, they landed on the continent at a point that commander Dumont d'Urville would dub ‘Terre Adélie’, named in honor of his wife.

The Austral continent soon became a major attraction for numerous nations who saw a vast, untamed land, unspoiled by human contact and potentially rich in natural resources. In 1957, the International Geophysical Year brought 12 countries together for a collaboration that would include the installation of 48 new stations, primarily located along the coastline, but also some on the interior Inlandsis.

A victim of its own success, it soon became necessary to draft the Antarctic Treaty, signed on December 1, 1959, in order to freeze any further territorial claims. To date, 45 signatory countries provide a unique atmosphere for scientific research and the conservation of fauna, flora and natural resources.

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