Refuge Islands () is a small group of

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

s lying 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) from the ice cliffs at the southwest side of

Red Rock Ridge Hadley Upland () is a triangular shaped remnant plateau with an undulating surface, , in southern Graham Land, Antarctica. It is bounded by Windy Valley and Martin Glacier, Gibbs Glacier and Lammers Glacier. Location Hadley Upland is to the ...

, off the west coast of

Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee ...

. Discovered and named by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) under Rymill, 1934–37, who used these islands as a depot for sledge journeys south from the southern base in the

Debenham Islands The Debenham Islands () are a group of islands and rocks lying between Millerand Island and the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. Location The Debenham Islands are in Marguerite Bay in Graham Land on the Fallières Coast of the Antarctic P ...

El Plumerillo Refuge

Refuge El Plumerillo () is an Antarctic refuge located on one islet of the Refuge Islands in the Rymill Bay on the

Fallières Coast The Fallières Coast is that portion of the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula between the head of Bourgeois Fjord and Cape Jeremy and lies on Marguerite Bay and the Wordie Ice Shelf. On the south it is joined by Rymill Coast, and in the nor ...

. The refuge is operated by the

Argentine Army The Argentine Army () is the Army, land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander-in-chief of the Armed For ...

and was inaugurated on April 28, 1953. It depends on the

San Martín Base San Martín Base () is a permanent, all year-round Argentine Antarctic base and scientific research station named after General José de San Martín, the Libertador of Argentina, Chile and Peru. It is located on Barry Island, Marguerite Bay, Anta ...

located north of the refuge. The hut is a prefabricated wooden construction, a

Sikorsky H-5 The Sikorsky H-5 (initially designated R-5 and also known by company designations S-48, S-51 and VS-327Fitzsimons, Bernard, (general editor). ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare'' (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 20, p ...

helicopter, with

aircraft registration An aircraft registration is a code unique to a single aircraft, required by international convention to be marked on the exterior of every civil aircraft. The registration indicates the aircraft's country of registration, and functions much li ...

LV-XXT, was used during the operations regarding the construction of the shelter. Among the tasks performed, the helicopter indicated the direction of the march and transported food and fuel, even during snowstorms. On September 24, 1953, the helicopter flew to the shelter and attempted to descend to a predetermined place. In a moment the tail rotor of the helicopter crashed into a mound of ice and rock, falling on its right side, breaking the main rotor, the landing gear and part of the cabin. There were no injuries or deaths and it was possible to rescue the light objects from the load. The helicopter remained there for a year until it was dismantled and taken to the San Martin Base.

References

* Islands of Graham Land Fallières Coast {{FallièresCoast-geo-stub

El Plumerillo Refuge

See also

References