There is no official flag of Antarctica. Antarctica is not a nation and is not ruled by a single government or body, therefore no flag has been adopted for it. The Antarctic Treaty Organization has no flag, either. One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ... For the Antarctic Treaty from the Gundam anime, see Antarctic Treaty (Gundam) The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate the international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earths only uninhabited continent. ...

Proposed designs

There have appeared in various sources several proposed designs, including one by Whitney Smith and one by Graham Bartram. Dr. Whitney Smith is an established vexillologist, one who studies flags. ...

The Whitney Smith Design

The Whitney Smith design uses the high-visibility color orange as its background (it is the international rescue color, it contrasts the best against snow, and to avoid any confusion, is unlike almost any other national flag on Earth). The emblem consists of several components. 'A' stands for Antarctica. The bottom segment of the globe repesents Antarctica's position on Earth, while the two hands holding up the globe segment repesents peaceful human use. The emblem is colored white to represent the snow and ice of Antarctica and is offset toward the hoist of the flag so as to maintain its integrity should the flag fray badly in the high winds prevalent upon the continent. However, there is no record of it ever being fabricated, let alone used in Antarctica. Flag Explanation Antarctica Flag designed by Dr. Whitney Smith of the Flag Research Center in 1978. ... Flag Explanation Antarctica Flag designed by Dr. Whitney Smith of the Flag Research Center in 1978. ... See also Orange (disambiguation) for other meanings of the word. ...

The Graham Bartram design.

The Graham Bartram design uses the flag of the United Nations as its model. A plain white map of the continent on a blue background symbolizes neutrality (Mr. Bartram was well aware of the overlapping territorial claims of the United Kingdom, Chile, and Argentina when he designed the flag). This flag has actually been flown on the Antarctic continent as recently as 2002, when Ted Kaye (editor of Raven, the scholarly journal of the North American Vexillological Association) took several full-size copies of the flag on an Antarctic cruise. The bases of Brazil, Ukraine, and the U.K. all flew it from their flagpoles, making its raising "official". He presented a paper on the first flying of the Bartram design over Antarctica in Stockholm in 2003, at the 20th International Congress of Vexillology. It is perhaps the most popular flag for Antarctica, as seen in its abundancy on the Internet. Image File history File links Flag_of_Antarctica. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Antarctica. ... The olive branches symbolise peace. ...

Territorial flags

The nations of the Antarctic Treaty use their own national flags at their respective Antarctic research bases, though the British territorial claim on Antarctica has its own flag, as does the French Southern Territories, which includes the French territorial claim. Flag of the British Antarctic Territory The British Antarctic Territory is the British claim to land and islands in Antarctica, and is the oldest territorial claim on the continent. ... The French Southern Territories (long name: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, French: Territoire des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises or TAAF) are antarctic, volcanic islands in the southern Indian Ocean, south of Africa and about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia. ...

The Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego includes the Argentine claim on Antarctica (25 degrees W to 74 degrees W). The flag was adopted in 1999 as the result of a competition. Tierra del Fuego (Spanish: land of Fire) is an archipelago at the southernmost tip of South America. ... Antarctic portion between meridians 25º West and 74º West Argentine Antarctica (in Spanish, Antártida Argentina) is a sector of Antarctica which Argentina considers part of its National Territory. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) is a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

The Magellan Region (Chilean Antarctica) includes the Chilean claim on the continent (53 degrees W to 90 degrees W). Punta Arenas is the 'capital' of this region. City of Punta Arenas Punta Arenas is the main city in the Strait of Magellan and the capital of the Región de Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena, Chile. ...

External links

• Antarctica — flag proposals