COURTESY DANIEL KINOSHITA A penguin from Paradise Bay, a popular site for visitors.

Antarctica

Part II » In the second of a two-part series of photographs from Daniel Kinoshita, we showcase the picturesque images of Hope Bay, Lemaire Channel and Paradise Bay in Antarctica, the world's fifth-largest continent.

Forty-seven nations signed an Antarctica treaty in 1959 that ensures scientific investigation, bans military activity and protects the wildlife and environment of the continent.

The natural beauty of Antarctica, as captured by Kinoshita on this page, stand as testament to the value of the treaty. Hope Bay, on the northern tip of the Antarctica Peninsula, is home to a large Argentine research station called Esperanza. Lemaire Channel is nicknamed "Kodak Gap" because of its popularity among photographers and tourists; likewise, Paradise Bay, a serene area, is popular among tourists.

COURTESY DANIEL KINOSHITA The dramatic landscape of Hope Bay is located on the northern tip of the Antarctica Peninsula. The bay is home to a large Adelie penguin rookery with more than 50,000 breed pairs. It is also home to the research site Esperanza, which has its own mayor, post office and school.

COURTESY DANIEL KINOSHITA Paradise Bay, also known as Paradise Harbor, is famous for the vast variety of icebergs that calve off the glacier at the harbor's head. Ice floes provide a resting spot for seals and penguins, and whales swim nearby as well.

COURTESY DANIEL KINOSHITA An enormous iceberg sits in the Lemaire Channel, above. The channel is slightly more than a mile wide at its narrowest point, and is a strait between the mainland's Antarctica Peninsula and Booth Island. It is surrounded by steep cliffs of ice and 3,000-foot mountains.

COURTESY DANIEL KINOSHITA Since the Lemaire Channel is protected by cliffs and mountains, its waters are often still as a lake. But because it's filled with icebergs, the channel is impassable.