Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva

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Map of King George Island, Eduardo Frei Montalva Station is located in the western (left) estreme of the island.

Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva is the most important Antarctic base of Chile and one of the most important ones in Antarctica. It is located at Fildes Peninsula, an ice-free area, in front of Fildes Bay (Maxwell Bay), west of King George Island, South Shetland Islands. Situated alongside the Escudero Station and only 200 meters from the Russian Bellingshausen Station, its geographic coordinates are 62°12′0″S, 58°57′51″W, with an altitude of 10 meters above sea-level. The base is located in the Chilean commune of Antártica, which is the Antarctic territory claimed by Chile^[1] (Antártica Chilena Province, Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region).

Also nearby are the bases of Great Wall (People's Rep. of China), General Artigas (Uruguay), King Sejong (Republic of Korea), Jubany (Argentina), Commandante Ferraz (Brazil), Henryk Arctowski (Poland) and Machu Picchu (Peru). Much further away is Captain Arturo Prat base, also Chilean, 50 km to the west.

It has a 1300 meters long airstrip (Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin Aerodrome, ICAO Code SCRM [1]), with 50 intercontinental and 150 intracontinental flights each season, serving as a means of transport to many bases around.

It also includes the Villa Las Estrellas residential area that has an 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.^[2]

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, with the airstrip retaining the name Teniente Rodolfo Marsh.^[3]

[edit] Climate

Like all the scarse zones that are free of permanent ice at the north of Antarctica, close to sea level, the area belongs to the climatic category of tundra. The average temperature in July is -6.3°C; in January is 1.4°C; annual average is -2.4°C. Average precipitation: Maximum in March, 62.5 mm; Minimum in July 18.2 mm; annual average 405 mm.^[4]

[edit] References

1. ^ Antarctica
2. ^ (Spanish)http://www.expedicionantartica.cl/antartica/vivir/estrellas.htm
3. ^ Chilean "EDUARDO FREI" Antarctic Base
4. ^ Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva - permanent station of Chile, Antarctica - Sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk times for the whole year - Gaisma