average elevations
between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to 5,000 meters high;
ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land,
and the scientific research areas of Graham Land and Ross Island on McMurdo
Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of coastline

Natural resources: coal and iron ore; chromium, copper, gold, nickel,
platinum, and hydrocarbons have been found in small quantities along the coast;
offshore deposits of oil and gas

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 100% other (98% ice, 2% barren rock)

Environment: mostly uninhabitable; katabatic (gravity) winds blow
coastward from the high interior; frequent blizzards form near the foot of the
plateau; cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise around the
coast; during summer more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South
Pole than is received at the Equator in an equivalent period; in October 1987
it was reported that the ozone shield, which protects the Earth's surface
from harmful ultraviolet radiation, has dwindled to its lowest level
ever over Antarctica; subject to active volcanism (Deception Island)

Note: the coldest continent

- People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; staffing of research stations
varies seasonally;

Summer (January) population--3,330; Argentina 179, Australia 216,
Brazil 36, Chile 124, China 62, France 46, FRG 9, GDR 15, India 59,
Italy 121, Japan 52, NZ 251, Poland 19, South Africa 102, South
Korea 17, UK 72, Uruguay 47, US 1,250, USSR 653 (1986-87);

Winter (July) population--1,148 total; Argentina 149, Australia
82, Brazil 11, Chile 59, China 16, France 32, FRG 9, GDR 9, India 17,
Japan 37, NZ 11, Poland 19, South Africa 15, UK 61, Uruguay 10, US 242,
USSR 369 (1986-87);

Year-round stations--43 total; Argentina 7, Australia 3, Brazil 1,
Chile 3, China 1, France 1, FRG 1, GDR 1, India 1, Japan 2, NZ 1,
Poland 1, South Africa 1, South Korea 1, UK 6, Uruguay 1, US 3, USSR 8
(1986-87);

Summer only stations--26 total; Argentina 3, Australia 3, Chile 4,
Italy 1, Japan 1, NZ 2, South Africa 2, US 4, USSR 6 (1986-87)

- Government
Long-form name: none

Type: The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December 1959 and entered into
force on 23 June 1961, established, for at least 30 years, a legal framework for
peaceful use, scientific research, and suspension of territorial claims.
Administration is