Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva is the most important Antarctic base of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

. It is located at Fildes Peninsula, an ice-free area, in front of Fildes Bay, west of King George Island,

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...

. Situated alongside the Escudero Station and only from the Russian

Bellingshausen Station Bellingshausen Station (Russian: станция Беллинсгаузен) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) Antarctic station at Collins Harbour, on King George Island of the South Shetland Islands. It was one of the first research stations fou ...

, its geographic coordinates are , at an altitude of above sea-level. The base is located in the Chilean commune of Antártica, which is the Antarctic territory claimed by Chile (

Antártica Chilena Province Antártica Chilena Province ( es, Provincia Antártica Chilena) is the southernmost and one of four provinces in Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region (XII). The capital is Puerto Williams. The province comprises ...

Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region Magallanes may refer to: * Ferdinand Magellan (1480–1521), Portuguese explorer who led part of the first expedition around the world * Strait of Magellan, the strait between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, located in Chile Places * Magallanes ...

). Also nearby are the bases of

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against Eurasian noma ...

(China), General Artigas Station (Uruguay), King Sejong Station (Republic of Korea),

Carlini Base ) in the background , imagesize = 280 , image_blank_emblem = , blank_emblem_type = , blank_emblem_size = , blank_emblem_alt = Official Carlini emblem , blank_emblem_link = , image_flag ...

(Argentina), Commandante Ferraz (Brazil), Henryk Arctowski (Poland) and Machu Picchu Base (Peru). Further away is Captain Arturo Prat Base, also Chilean, 50 km to the west.

Description

It has a -long airstrip ('' Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin Aerodrome'',

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

Code SCRM), with 50 intercontinental and 150 intracontinental flights each season, serving as a means of transport to many nearby bases. It also includes the Villa Las Estrellas residential area that has a hospital, a school, a bank, a small supermarket, etc. The maximum population during summer is of 150 people, and the average during winter is of about 80 people. It began to operate in 1969 as ''Centro Meteorológico Eduardo Frei''. When the installations were expanded, it was renamed as ''Base Teniente Rodolfo Marsh'', with the meteorology center keeping its original name. During the 1990 decade, all of the installations came to be named Base Presidente

Eduardo Frei Montalva Eduardo Nicanor Frei Montalva (; 16 January 1911 – 22 January 1982) was a Chilean political leader. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party, senator, President of the ...

, with the airstrip retaining the name Teniente Rodolfo Marsh.

Climate

Like the coastal areas of Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic islands south of the 60º parallel, the area has a

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...

, that could be considerably borderline "maritime-influenced

polar climate The polar climate regions are characterized by a lack of warm summers but with varying winters. Every month in a polar climate has an average temperature of less than . Regions with polar climate cover more than 20% of the Earth's area. Most of ...

", thanks to temperatures that rarely drop below in winter (which is commonplace in most of Antarctica), and temperatures that could soar a few digits above freezing for most parts of the year. The base's area and its vicinity (the entire island, actually) experiences a rather heavy precipitation, with an average precipitation rate of yearly, which makes it unusual on the Antarctic continent, as the continent is significantly drier than the islands are to the north.Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva - permanent station of Chile, Antarctica - Sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk times for the whole year - Gaisma
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References

External links

Official website Chilean Antarctic Institute
*
Webcam Teniente Martin airport
{{Lighthouse identifiers , qid2=Q60176531 Outposts of the South Shetland Islands Argentine Antarctica British Antarctic Territory Chilean Antarctic Territory Lighthouses in Antarctica 1969 establishments in Antarctica

Description

Climate

See also

References

External links