List of Antarctic flags

This list includes flags that either have been in use or are currently used in Antarctica. As a condominium with no single governing body, the continent of Antarctica does not have an official flag of its own. However, several designs have been created for the purpose of representing the continent.

Date	Use	Description
1929	RRS Discovery crew	Plain white flag
1978^[1]	Whitney Smith's proposal.	An orange field bearing an emblem consisting of a pair of hands holding a segment of a disk representing Earth with the letter "A" representing Antarctica.
1995^[2]	Joanne Cooper and Stefan Tucker's proposal.	An orange field bearing an outline of Antarctica, a compass pointing south at the bottom hoist, and the outline of a penguin in the fly.
1996^[3]	Graham Bartram's proposal.	A white outline of Antarctica on a UN-blue background.
1999^[3]^[4]	Dave Hamilton's proposal.	The pale blue strip represents pack ice, the dark blue stripe represents the night sky and the yellow stripe is a representation of the aurora australis. The famous stellar constellation the Southern Cross is shown in the dark blue stripe in the fly corner.
2007/2008^[3]	Olivier Leroi's proposal.	The flag is vertically divided in four stripes — black, off-white, orange, and gray — reproducing the proportions of the colors on the "livery" (feathers) of an emperor penguin, selected as Antarctica's emblematic animal.
2018^[5]^[6]	Evan Townsend's proposal (True South flag)	According to the flag's promoters, it signifies: "Horizontal stripes of navy and white represent the long days and nights at Antarctica's extreme latitude. In the center, a lone white peak erupts from a field of snow and ice, echoing those of the bergs, mountains, and pressure ridges that define the Antarctic horizon. The long shadow it casts forms the unmistakable shape of a compass arrow pointed south, an homage to the continent's legacy of exploration. Together, the two center shapes create a diamond, symbolizing the hope that Antarctica will continue to be a center of peace, discovery, and cooperation for generations to come."
2024	Graham Bartram's 2024 redesign.	An Antarctic shape made of colorful microplastic-like spots on a blue background.

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1961,^[7]^[8] formalized in 2002^[9]	Flag of the Antarctic Treaty System	Logo of the organization in 2:3 proportions. A white outline of Antarctica over a dark blue field with lines representing longitude and latitude counterchanged on top.
	2013–present^[10]	Flag of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research	Logo of the organization in 2:3 proportions. A white outline of Antarctica on a blue field defaced with the acronym of the organization, surrounded by the text "The International Council for Science" and "Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research" arranged in a circle within a white circular line.

Flag	Date	Use	Description
Claims using a special flag
	1963–present^[11]	British Antarctic Territory	A UK white ensign less the cross of St. George defaced with the coat of arms of the British Antarctic Territory.
	1963–present^[11]	British Antarctic Territory	A UK blue ensign defaced with the coat of arms of the British Antarctic Territory.
Claims using the flag of a larger administrative unit
	1999–present^[12]	Argentine Antarctica, in Tierra del Fuego Province.	The blue symbolizes the sky and sea surrounding the province, while the Southern Cross reflects the night sky and the albatross itself is a local bird that represents freedom through flight.
	1997–present^[13]	Chilean Antarctic Territory, in Magallanes Region.	The blue color represents the night sky, while the golden peaks symbolize the steppe region, white indicates the snow that often falls in winter, and the Southern Cross symbolizes the position of the area.
	2007–present^[14]	Adélie Land, in French Southern and Antarctic Territories.	The flag consists of a blue field with the French flag with white fimbriation on the canton. The charge consists of five stars (for the five regions of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories) and the letters "TAAF" (from the French name of the territory, Terres australes et antarctiques françaises) forming a monogram in the shape of anchor.
Proposals
	1995^[15]	Ross Dependency	The New Zealand flag is the basis for his design, though with an 'Ice Blue' background representing the Ross Sea, and the white horizontal bar at the bottom of the flag representing the Ross Ice Shelf.

Date	Use	Description
1902–1904	Scottish National Antarctic Expedition	Scottish saltire with the letters "S-N-A-E" as an acronym for "Scottish National Antarctic Expedition".
1910–1912	Imperial Japanese Antarctic Expedition
1910–1912	Imperial Japanese Antarctic Expedition
1933–1939	Byrd's Second Antarctic Expedition
1933–1939	Byrd's Second Antarctic Expedition
1946–1948	Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition
1947–present	French Antarctic Expedition, also used in the Arctic.
1979–1982	"Transglobe" Expedition	UK flag defaced with a globe and an arrow circumnavigate it from North to South.

Base	Country	Description
Amundsen–Scott South Pole	United States	White variant of the flag of the USAP: plain white field charged with the logo of the United States Antarctic Program.
Palmer Station	United States	Blue variant of the flag of the USAP: plain blue field charged with the logo of the United States Antarctic Program.
Captain Arturo Prat	Chile	Plain white field charged with the coat of arms of the base.
Gabriel de Castilla	Spain	The flag of Spain with the emblem of the base in the center.

List of Antarctic flags

Antarctic flag proposals

Flags of international Antarctic organizations

Flags of Antarctic territorial claims

Antarctic expedition flags

Sledge flags

Southern Cross Expedition (1898–1900)

Discovery Expedition (1901–1904)

Nimrod Expedition (1907–1909)

Terra Nova Expedition (1910–1913)

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914–1917)

John Lachlan Cope's Expedition to Graham Land (1920–1922)

British Graham Land Expedition (1934–1937)

Antarctic base flags

Other flags

See also

Notes

References

Related Articles

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1897–1899	Historical burgee of the Royal Yacht Club of Belgium in Antwerp, which was used as a masthead pennant by the RV Belgica during the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899.	A white swallowtail pennant defaced with the intertwined initials "YC" in black and gold, and two red triangles placed along the hoist.^[36]
	1910–1912	Name pennant of the Fram during Roald Amundsen's Antarctic expedition. When Amundsen and four of his men conquered the South Pole in December 1911, they erected a tent from which this flag was hoisted underneath the Norwegian flag itself.	A white pennant surrounded by a blue border along the top and bottom and defaced with the name "FRAM." in blue letters.^[37]
Link to file	1949–present	Pennant of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions
	1979^[38]	50th anniversary commemorative flag of Byrd's historic flight over the South Pole.
	2000–present^[39]	Burgee of the Ross Island Yacht Club Antarctica (RIYCA)	White represents the ice and purity. Blue represents the sky and valor. The silhouette depicts Shakleton's efforts on the waters around Ross Island. The Antarctic Skua, inspires freedom found in the south and a free meal wherever it may be found. The bloodshot red bowsprit reflects the directional desires on earth and on the wheel of life.
	2004–present^[40]^[41]	Antarctic Vexillological Association	Blue represents the 24-hour day of the summer season, black represents the 24-hour night of the winter season, and white represents the ice and snow of the Antarctic continent. The diamond in the middle if divided across the equator represents the "A" of Antarctica and "V" of vexillology. The diamond also represents the four compass points representing the compass points leading away from the geographic South Pole.
	2020^[42]	200th anniversary commemorative flag of Russia in Antarctica
	?–present	Antarctic flag used by Quark Expeditions

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