Queen Maud Land

Among Earth’s polar regions, Antarctica stands out for being the coldest, driest and windiest continent. The vast Antarctic ice sheet holds most of the planet’s freshwater ice, while the Transantarctic Mountains divide much of the continent between East and West Antarctica. Along the Ross Sea, sea ice and open water support colonies of penguins, seals and seabirds during the brief austral summer. Antarctica has no permanent population, but international research stations operate under the Antarctic Treaty system, founded on the 1959 treaty that set the continent aside for peaceful scientific cooperation. Historic expedition huts near Ross Island recall the early polar journeys of Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton. Find related webcams in the surrounding area to build a fuller picture of Antarctica.