The Union Glacier Camp is the only private seasonally occupied camp site located in

Ellsworth Land Ellsworth Land is a portion of the Antarctica, Antarctic continent bounded on the west by Marie Byrd Land, on the north by the Bellingshausen Sea, on the northeast by the base of the Antarctic Peninsula, and on the east by the western margin of t ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. The camp is located in the

Heritage Range The Heritage Range is a major mountain range, long and wide, situated southward of Minnesota Glacier and forming the southern half of the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica. The range is complex, consisting of scattered ridges and peaks of mo ...

, below the

Ellsworth Mountains The Ellsworth Mountains are the highest mountain ranges in Antarctica, forming a long and wide chain of mountains in a north to south configuration on the western margin of the Ronne Ice Shelf in Marie Byrd Land. They are bisected by Minneso ...

, on Union Glacier, that gives the camp its name.

Location and features

The camp is operated by Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions LLC (ALE), a company that provides expedition support and tours to the interior of Antarctica. The camp is situated near Union Glacier Blue-Ice Runway SCGC a rare, naturally occurring, blue ice runway that allows wheeled jet cargo aircraft to land. Russian

Ilyushin Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-1 ...

aircraft regularly transport equipment and personnel to the camp. From Union Glacier Camp transportation to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

Vinson Massif Vinson Massif () is a large mountain massif in Antarctica that is long and wide and lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located ab ...

, Hercules Inlet and other locations is by Twin Otter and

Basler BT-67 The Basler BT-67 is a utility aircraft produced by Basler Turbo Conversions of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is a remanufactured and modified Douglas C-47 Skytrain / Douglas DC-3; the modifications are designed to significantly extend the DC-3's servic ...

ski plane. Union Glacier Camp replaced the earlier Patriot Hills Base Camp. During the months of November to January, when the weather is the least hostile, jet charter flights are operated from

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (, historically known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes Region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

to the camp. Union Glacier is the site of the annual Antarctic Ice Marathon, as well as the start of the World Marathon Challenge (7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days).

Total solar eclipse

On December 4, 2021, a

total solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

passed over Union Glacier Camp. It was the only human settlement in Antarctica to lie within

the path of totality ''The Path of Totality'' is the tenth studio album by American nu metal band Korn. It was released on December 2, 2011, in Europe and December 6, 2011, in the US. The album is a departure from Korn's usual sound and was produced by various Elect ...

. This was one of two solar eclipses to occur in 2021; the other being on June 10.

References

External links

Adventure Network International ANI
Outposts of Antarctica Outposts of Ellsworth Land {{EllsworthLand-geo-stub

Location and features

Total solar eclipse

See also

References

External links