12-01-2009PREMIUM

Freeze: The Antarctic Treaty Turns 50

On the first of December 1959, 12 nations signed a pact freezing territorial claims and banning military activity in Antarctica. It isn’t human-free (29 nations have research stations there, and 11 people have been born on the continent), but it remains remarkably untouched. Here’s a tour.

BY Anne C. Lee1 minute read

Infographic: The Antarctic Treaty Turns 50

1. The Weddell and Ross Seas continental shelves are believed to hold 50 billion barrels of oil. That’s more than double the known reserves in the U.S.

2. The Transantarctic Mountains have deposits of coal, gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, and tin, but a moratorium on commercial mining is in place in Antarctica through 2048.

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.

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