Country Guide - Antarctica
Antarctica is the last vast wilderness on the planet. Its gigantic icebergs, mountain ranges and the emptiness of the polar plateau boggle the mind, while its weather curdles the blood. It's beautiful and serene, savage and violent, and its scale is almost unfathomable.
Full Name
Antarctica
Capital City
N/A
Area
14,250,000 km2
Population
0
When to Go
Tourists do not visit Antarctica during winter, when the pack ice extends its frozen mantle for 1000km (621mi) around most of the continent, barricading it against all ship traffic. In any case, few people would pay thousands of dollars to experience the Antarctic winter's near round-the-clock darkness and extreme cold. At that temperature, boiling water thrown into the air freezes instantly - and noisily - into a cloud of snow.
The Antarctic tour season is short - about four months, with each offering its own highlights. November is early summer: the spring pack ice is breaking up, and birds - especially penguins - are courting and mating. December and January, when penguins are hatching eggs and feeding chicks, are the height of the austral summer, bringing warmer temperatures and up to 20 hours of sunlight every day. In the late summer month of February, whale-watching is best, penguin chicks are beginning to fledge and adult penguins are ashore molting.
There are other factors to consider in deciding when to travel: cruises later in the season may be less crowded, so you may not spend as much time waiting around for Zodiacs (motorised dinghies) and station tours. However, the longer you wait to go, the greater the risk that much of the wildlife will already have headed out to sea. For those wishing to see Ross Island's historic huts, your best bet is to go as late in the season as possible. Even with an icebreaker, it may be impossible to penetrate the pack ice that far south earlier in the season.
Weather
Antarctica is synonymous with cold. Mean temperatures in the Antarctic interior range get down to -70°C (-94°F) during the coldest month, and -35°C (-31°F) during the warmest month. On the coast, temperatures are considerably warmer: -15°C (5°F) to -32°C (-25°F) in the winter, and from 5°C (41°F) to -5°C (23°F) in the summer. The Antarctic Peninsula experiences the highest temperatures year round. The interior of Antarctica is the world's driest desert, since the extreme cold freezes water vapour out of the air. Annual snowfall on the polar plateau is equivalent to less than 5cm (2in) of rain. Antarctica experiences some of the strongest winds on the planet: the katabatics can achieve velocities of up to 320kmph (199mph). The winds on the polar plateau, by contrast, are usually very light. Antarctic whiteouts and blizzards - which can be extremely dangerous - are common.
Places of Interest
Lemaire Channel
This steep-sided channel - just 1600m (5250ft) wide - runs for 11km (7mi) between the mountains of Booth Island and the Peninsula. So photogenic that it's been dubbed 'Kodak Gap', the passageway is only visible once you're nearly inside it. The channel was first navigated by the Belgian de Gerlache in 1898 and named after a Belgian explorer of the Congo.
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
The U.S.'s new Elevated Station, built at a cost of 165000000.00 USD and due for completion in early 2008, replaces 'the Dome', as the old station, housed under a geodesic dome built from 1971 to 1975, was known.
Mawson Station
Australia's Mawson Station was established in February 1954. Named for Douglas Mawson, an Australian Antarctic explorer, it is the oldest continuously occupied station south of the Antarctic Circle. Mawson is approached through Iceberg Alley, a channel lined with huge tabular bergs that have run aground on underwater banks.
Visas
Since no-one owns Antarctica no-one needs a visa to visit it. However, shipping schedules are at the mercy of the ice and elements, so even if you are travelling directly from your home country, you will need to bring a valid passport since your vessel could possibly pull into the port of another country. You will need visas for any countries that your ship visits en route to Antarctica.
