Throughout the universe, we humans are able to live unharmed on Earth, a completely very fortunate thing, both the natural natural environment of the Earth and the distance from the sun are just right, which allows life to breed.

The ecology of Mother Earth is also the same, not only has the atmosphere isolated from ultraviolet rays, there is a very breathable air, mountains and rivers and other places suitable for the breeding of life, and different regions have created different human civilization.

When it comes to the seven continents and four oceans on Earth, the most mysterious one is Antarctica, because only on top of Antarctica is not naturally inhabitable by humans, so how did people discover Antarctica? And why Antarctica is not the territory of any country?

Discovery of Antarctica

Antarctica is completely different from the other six continents, because whether it is Asia, America, Europe, Africa or Oceania, these places have natural conditions suitable for human growth and reproduction.

For example, Europe's climate is very mild, most areas are temperate maritime climate, so the appropriate temperature and sufficient sunshine and rain is very suitable for the development of agriculture; and for example, Southeast Asia in Asia is rich in a variety of fruits and melons, Central Asia is an endless plain, so the natural natural environment is very suitable for the development of agricultural civilization.

But Antarctica is an exception, because Antarctica is completely located in the polar regions of a large white ice cap, the entire continent is covered by ice and thick snow, the average temperature is below -25 degrees throughout the year.

Even since the discovery of the Antarctic continent, the lowest temperature ever observed in Antarctica reached more than -80 degrees, so imagine what it is like to live on such a large piece of ice cap.

Therefore Antarctica is like a continent far from human beings, except for some polar animals, it is almost impossible for humans to survive on it.

So how was the distant Antarctica, far away from the region of human existence, discovered? It goes back to the 18th century, when the Frenchman Bouvet discovered an island near Antarctica during his voyage, and this island is Bouvet Island. The discovery of this island led people to believe that there should be islands of greater size further away.

By 1772, the British Captain Cook reached the vicinity of Antarctica for the first time, followed by the American Palmer who finally discovered the continent after more than 50 years. Subsequently, seafaring explorers from all over the world began their journey to conquer the Antarctic continent, the two most famous explorers being Amundsen and Scott.

In junior high school, we have learned a text, is the famous writer Zweig wrote "The Great Tragedy", this article is written out of Scott and the Norwegian explorer Amundsen two people in the Antarctic continent to compete. In order to compete for the process of being the first to reach the South Pole.

The article, the ups and downs, the ups and downs, Scott wrote a desperate letter to the British people at the end of his life, but also moved people to tears.

Time came to the early 20th century, from the 1930s onwards, when the Americans first conducted Antarctic expeditions and established the first Antarctic research base. As a result, the Antarctic continent slowly opened its mysterious veil to human beings.

In Amundsen and Scott's race to be the first to reach the South Pole, they used the most primitive way that is to use a dog sled, although before the First World War, explorers from Europe had already reached the South Pole, and this emerged a number of heroic stories.

But it was not until the end of the Second World War that people began to formally put machinery and equipment into the expedition to the Antarctic continent, and then the Americans flew a plane across the South Pole, which represented the first human wave to the South Pole.

After the 1960s, scientists from all over the world flocked to Antarctica and established research stations there. Every country can establish a research station in Antarctica, so the Antarctic continent is a continent that belongs to all mankind. So why is such a large Antarctic continent not the territory of any country? In fact, there are many interesting things about it.

Antarctic Agreement

Antarctica is different from other continents where humans live, because Antarctica is a place that is too special, this continent, in addition to ice is snow, and in the poles above, there is not a trace of human life. Therefore, Antarctica is also known as the world's only unpolluted area.

Antarctica has a particularly pristine natural environment and therefore has a very high scientific value, both in terms of its glaciers, geological conditions, and even marine life.

In addition to the unique temperature of Antarctica, these have given scientists a natural place to do experiments, especially after the 1960s, the world's major countries have gone to the Antarctic expedition, in such conditions, people in Washington signed the Antarctic Treaty.

Our country also joined this treaty in the 1980s, and the Antarctic Treaty stipulates that Antarctica belongs to all mankind and not to any one country, that people's expeditions and scientific research in Antarctica are for peaceful purposes only, and that radioactive activities, such as nuclear explosions, are prohibited in Antarctica.

However, there are still many disputes about Antarctica, as one of the first explorers to discover Antarctica was the Frenchman Ariadne, so France considers Antarctica to be part of France. In 1938, Germany was not happy and sent a research vessel to examine the Queensland Strip and mark Antarctica with a metal marker.

The unreasonable practices of these countries have also led other countries to follow suit, for example, some countries in South America such as Chile and Argentina also consider the Antarctic Peninsula to be their territory, and the matter has even triggered the intervention of international courts.

The United States also began to state that it had Antarctica as its territory from the late 1930s, even President Roosevelt, and then the world began to fight for it. It was because of the deepening conflicts between countries that the Antarctic Treaty was urged to be signed.

The treaty provides for the freezing of claims of territorial ownership and the conduct of scientific research in Antarctica in order to promote international cooperation in science. Since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty, all countries have recognized the Treaty and have established their own research stations in Antarctica, thus entering the era of scientific research in Antarctica.

Today's Antarctica

Today, more than thirty countries have established more than 150 research stations in Antarctica, and China has also established four research stations in Antarctica, namely the Great Wall Station, Zhongshan Station, Kunming Station and Taishan Station.

Countries have conducted very intensive scientific research in Antarctica and have made many discoveries. 2014, British scientists discovered a huge tunnel underneath the Antarctic ice sheet.

The height of this tunnel is even equal to the Eiffel Tower, such a mysterious cave do not know if it is a natural formation, perhaps the future as we explore the Antarctic degree of deepening, the secrets of the Antarctic continent will be gradually unveiled by future generations.