World Heritage Sites in Antarctica and the Polar Regions
Sweden’s Laponian area is the first and only area is the Polar Regions to be nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, but visitors can still be fascinated by the number of protected sites of national historical value in Antarctica.
Laponian area, Sweden: Parts of Swedish Lapland have been nominated a UNESCO World Heritage site for their outstanding, distinctive geography and Sami culture. The natives still tend to this protected area and carry out their traditions of reindeer herding.
Whaler’s Bay, Antarctica: The remains of an old whaling station, first used at the turn of the 20th century and abandoned in the 1930s, sit alongside what is left of a British research base after a series of eruptions from 1967 to 1970.
Port Lockroy, Antarctica: Here visitors can discover the first British scientific research station on the Antarctic Peninsula, today carefully preserved as a museum. Designated as a Historic Site under the Antarctic Treaty, it is a popular tourist attraction.
Paulet Island, Antarctica: This circular island just one mile in diameter houses the remains of a hut once used by the Nordenskjold expedition. It is primarily visited for its large penguin colony, but the hut makes for an interesting diversion.
Mawson’s Hut, Antarctica: This collection of buildings erected by the Australian Antarctic Expedition (1911-1914) is today a popular tourist attraction for inquisitive visitors. The huts are one of the few remaining heritage sites from the heroic age of Antarctic exploration and are therefore of international historical significance.