Antarctica: the population of the mainland. Russian Antarctic stations

The least studied and most unfriendly continenton Earth - Antarctica. The population of the continent varies between 1 and 4 thousand people. About the main features, the history of development and the inhabitants of the "ice" mainland, read in our article.

Antarctica: general information about the continent and its resources

The fact that this continent is the coldeston the planet, they know practically everything. It was on its territory (on the Russian polar station "Vostok") that the lowest temperature in the world was recorded - 89.2 degrees with a minus sign.

But they know about other records of Antarcticafew. So, the continent is also the driest, the highest and the most windy on Earth. Indeed, it was the lack of drinking water that was the main problem for all who decided to conquer the vast expanses of the continent called Antarctica. The population of the continent also has its own peculiarities. However, this will be discussed later.

It should be noted that Antarctica and its naturalresources do not belong to any of the modern states of the world. Although in the past centuries, many empires have tried to establish their control over one or another part of the continent. In 1991, the world community officially approved a special protocol, one of whose articles prohibits the conduct of any economic activity on the territory of Antarctica (in particular, the development of its rich mineral resources). True, the inhabitants of the planet are already acutely aware of the scarcity of many mineral resources. Therefore, it is not known how long this protocol will have its strength.

Antarctica: the population of the continent and its characteristics

Seals, polar terns, skuas andThe imperial penguins 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 radically: the continent's foot was first stepped on the firmament.

Who lives in Antarctica today? And what is the size of its general population?

Immediately it is worth mentioning that there is no Antarcticapermanent population due to too extreme weather and climate conditions. This means that the mainland is inhabited only by scientists, service personnel and tourists. All of them are here temporarily.

How many people are attracted to Antarctica? The population of the continent is about one thousand people in the winter season. In summer, its number can reach 4,000 people. On the mainland, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the most popular.

In 1978, a human child was born here for the first time. It was an Argentine citizen, Emilio Marcos Palma. But in 2007 in Antarctica was the first wedding ceremony in history.

History of the development of the continent. Russian Antarctica

The history of the Russian mastery of the continent began in1819, when an expedition headed by Lazarev and Bellingshausen departed from Kronstadt to the south. It was she who opened the sixth continent for the world. Great interest in Antarctica was manifested by the Russian Empire and in the late XIX - early XX century, organized several serious scientific expeditions.

In 1946, as some historians suggest,a serious military battle took place over Antarctica. After the end of the Second World War, then allies - the US and the USSR - sent to the shores of the continent powerful military squadrons. As a result, the American expedition did not return back to full strength. However, the details of this Antarctic battle are still shrouded in a lot of secrets and assumptions.

Russian Antarctic stations

To date, 30 states have their ownscientific stations in Antarctica. Among them is Russia, which has seven such bases on the mainland. These stations are Vostok, Progress, Bellingshausen, Novolazarevskaya, Molodezhnaya, Mirny and Leningradskaya. Each of them is interesting in its own way.

Thus, at the station "Vostok" in 1983 wasrecorded an absolute record of low temperature on Earth. This is one of the harshest (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, inIn 2004 the first Orthodox church was built on the mainland. But "Novolazarevskaya" boasts the only Russian bathhouse on the whole continent!

But the main center of Russian Antarctica is theToday is the station "Progress". It performs research, administrative and logistical functions. Here was created an excellent sports complex for polar explorers with a sauna, medical equipment and various simulators.