Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Claiming and negotiating the Antarctic
When looking at a globe, typically, the political boundaries dividing the world into 190-odd
nation states will be clearly marked. There will be areas of uncertainty such as the Indo-
Pakistani borderline, the status of Palestine, and/or the ownership of the Falklands/Malvinas.
Looking further south, the Antarctic continent is frequently represented on globes as un-
troubled by political boundaries. Such a position, on the face of it, would be eminently ap-
propriate for the only territorial region in the world without an indigenous human popula-
tion. Whether by intention or omission, such globes and their representations of the political
geography of the Earth are misleading. Large parts of the Antarctic are claimed by seven
states - Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United King-
dom. The most substantial claim to the polar continent is the Australian claim to Australian
Antarctic Territory - some 2.2 million square miles in size - with a small, transient popula-
tion. Uniquely, there is a portion of the Antarctic that is not claimed by any state and which
is termed the 'unclaimed Pacific Ocean sector'.
