Telecommunications: modern internal telephone system; 890 telephones; stations—3 AM, 1 FM, no TV; radio relay link to island of St. Martin
- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
——————————————————————————
Country: Antarctica
- Geography
Total area: about 14,000,000 km2; land area: about 14,000,000 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US; second-smallest continent (after Australia)
Land boundaries: see entry on Disputes
Coastline: 17,968 km
Maritime claims: see entry on Disputes
Disputes: Antarctic Treaty suspends all claims; sections (some overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France (Adelie Land), New Zealand (Ross Dependency), Norway (Queen Maud Land), and UK; Brazil claims a Zone of Interest; the US and USSR do not recognize the territorial claims of other nations and have made no claims themselves (but reserve the right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90o west and 150o west
Climate: severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and distance from the ocean; East Antarctica colder than Antarctic Peninsula in the west; warmest temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing
Terrain: about 98% thick continental ice sheet, with 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