It was in 1911 that Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, found what today is considered the South Pole. After hearing about this discovery the United States wanted to due their part and finally in 1956 they went and built the first scientific research station on Antarctica near the South Pole where they could study weather phenomena and the depletion of ozone. Since then many other organizations from around the world have placed temporary research stations there. (Antarctica Ownership 2).
For centuries the continent of Antarctica has been claimed by several nations and metaphorically broken up into sections for each nation to have their own piece but a vast part of the continent to this day is still unclaimed. Even now the portions of the continent that are claimed are not technically owned. The countries of France, Great Britain, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Chile all claim portions of the continent for their own reasons. Some claim their right to a portion due to how close they are to the continent's location and others claim their right to a portion because they were some of the first to explore that part of the continent. Although America was the first to step foot on Antarctica and was the first to place a research station there, to this day they have not claimed any portion of territory. Even with all of the territory claimed by 7 nations, more than half a million square miles in West Antarctica are still unclaimed. "Some view this territory as being informally held by the United States, though no formal claim has been made. "(Antarctica Ownership 3-4) This is the way territory should remain in Antarctica. It has peacefully worked for years to keep Antarctica safe of any civilization and modernization. The continent is to important to be owned by any nation or number of nations. Research and exploration should be the continents main priority and does not need to owned by one single country.
