Chilean Antarctic Territory Territorio Chileno Antártico
Coat of arms
Location in Antarctica.
Country	Chile
Region	Magallanes y Antártica Chilena
Province	Antártica Chilena
Commune	Antártica
Claimed	6 November 1940
Government
• Governor	Jorge Flies
• Regional delegate	José Ruiz Pivcevic
• Mayor	Patricio Fernández
• INACH Director	Andrés López
Area [1]
• Total	1,250,257.6 km2 (482,727.2 sq mi)
Population  (2012 Census)[1]
• Total	115
• Density	0.00009/km2 (0.0002/sq mi)
Sex [1]
• Men	100
• Women	15
Time zone	UTC-3
Area code	56 + 61
Capital	Villa Las Estrellas
Currency	Chilean Peso
Website	http://www.inach.cl/ (in Spanish)

The Chilean Antarctic Territory, or Chilean Antarctica (Spanish: Territorio Chileno Antártico, Antártica Chilena), is a part of West Antarctica and nearby islands claimed by Chile. It comprises the region south of 60°S latitude and between longitudes 53°W and 90°W, partially overlapping the Antarctic claims of Argentina (Argentine Antarctica) and of the United Kingdom (British Antarctic Territory). It constitutes the Antártica commune of Chile.

The territory claimed by Chile covers the South Shetland Islands, the Antarctic Peninsula (called O'Higgins Land—Tierra de O'Higgins in Spanish—in Chile), and adjacent islands Alexander Island, Charcot Island, Ellsworth Land, among others. It has an area of 1,250,257.6 km². Its boundaries are defined by Decree 1747, issued on November 6, 1940, and published on June 21 June 1955, in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs established:^[2]

The Chilean Antarctica or Chilean Antarctic Territory is: all lands, islands, islets, reefs, glaciers (pack-ice), and others, known and unknown, and respective territorial waters, existing within the limits of the cap constituted by the meridians 53° longitude west of Greenwich and 90° longitude west of Greenwich.

Within the Chilean territorial organization, Antártica is the commune that administers the territory. The commune of Antártica is managed by the municipality of Cabo de Hornos with a seat in Puerto Williams in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago (thus Antártica is the only commune in Chile not administered by a municipality of its own). It belongs to Antártica Chilena Province, which is part of Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region. The commune was created on July 11, 1961, and was dependent on the Magallanes Province until 1975, when the Antártica Chilena Province was created, making it administratively dependent on the Province capital, Puerto Williams.

Chilean territorial claims on Antarctica are mainly based on historical, legal, and geographical considerations. Chilean sovereignty over the Chilean Antarctic Territory is exercised in all aspects that were not limited by the signing of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. This treaty established that Antarctic activities are to be devoted exclusively to peaceful purposes of the signatories and acceding countries, thereby freezing territorial disputes and preventing the construction of new claims or the expansion of existing ones.

The Chilean Antarctic Territory corresponds geographically to areas UTC-4, UTC-5, and UTC-6, but as with Magallanes it uses UTC-3 year-round.

Chile currently has 13 active Antarctic bases: 4 permanent, 5 seasonal, and 4 shelters.

History

Chilean Antarctica in colonial times

For many years, cartographers and European explorers speculated about the existence of the Terra Australis Incognita, a vast territory located in the south of the Strait of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego that reached the South Pole.

On June 7, 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed between Spain and Portugal. This treaty gave rights to newly discovered territories to the two countries according to a line running from pole to pole that was never demarcated (at 46° 37'W in the Spanish classical interpretation and farther west according to the Portuguese interpretation). The areas of Antarctica claimed by Chile today fall within the region granted to Spain by the treaty. Though backed by the papal bull Ea quae pro bono pacis in 1506, the Treaty of Tordesillas was not recognized by several European powers, including France and other Catholic states. For England, the Netherlands, Russia and other countries, the Antarctic areas were considered res nullius, no man's land subject to the occupation of any nation.^[3]

In 1534, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V divided the South American territory of Spain into three governorates:

• New Castile or Peru to Francisco Pizarro,
• New Toledo or Chile to Diego de Almagro and
• New León or Magellanic Lands to Simón de Alcazaba y Sotomayor [es]; this governorate was subsequently extended to the Strait of Magellan.^[3]

In 1539, a new governorate was formed south of New León called Terra Australis under Pedro Sánchez de la Hoz.^[3] This consisted of the land south of the Strait of Magellan, i.e. Tierra del Fuego, and onward to the South Pole. At the time the existence of the Drake Passage was not known and Tierra del Fuego thought to be part of the Antarctic mainland.

In 1554, the conquistador Pedro de Valdivia, who led the Governorate of Chile, talked to the Council of the Indies about giving the rights of New León and the Terra Australis to Jeronimo de Alderete. After the death of Valdivia in the following year, Alderete became the governor of Chile and annexed the territories.^[4][5][6] A Royal Decree of 1554 states:

Because it was personally consulted, we will grant to the Captain Jeronimo de Alderete the land across the Magellan Strait.^{[citation needed]}

Later, in 1558, the Royal Decree of Brussels prompted the Chilean colonial government to "take ownership in our name from the lands and provinces that fall in the demarcation of the Spanish crown," referring to the land "across the Strait," i.e. Terra Australis.^[3]

One of the most important works of Spanish literature, the epic poem La Araucana by Alonso de Ercilla, is considered by Chile to be favorable to their territorial claims in Antarctica. In the seventh stanza of his Canto I:

Northern Chile is of great length; it is called the coast of the new sea of the south. From East to West it is narrow, 100 miles at its broadest, and at 27 degrees from the South Pole, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans mix their waters in a narrow channel. And those two seas which clamour to join, passing along it, beat the rocks and spread out their waves, preventing numerous islands from joining together. At this point the land is split; here the waters can communicate. Magellan, Sir, was the first to open this path, which was then given his name.^[7]

The latitude of 27 degrees from the South Pole, or 63 degrees south, corresponds to the southern side of the Drake Passage, just north of the Antarctic Peninsula. On the other hand, the reference to a "narrow channel" and to Magellan suggests that a misplaced Strait of Magellan is referred to.

There are other stories and maps, both Chilean and European, indicating that Terra Australis and Antarctica were part of the Captaincy General of Chile.^{[citation needed]}

In March 1603, the Spanish navigator Gabriel de Castilla sailed from Valparaiso, commanding three ships in an expedition entrusted to the viceroy of Peru, Luis de Velasco y Castilla. The goal of this expedition was to repress the incursions of Dutch privateers in the Southern Seas as far as 64 degrees south latitude.^[8][9] No documents confirming the latitude reached or land sighted have been found in the Spanish archives. However, the story of the Dutch sailor Laurenz Claesz (date unknown, but probably after 1607), documents the latitude. Claesz said:

[They] sailed under the Admiral don Gabriel of Castile with three ships along the coasts of Chile towards Valparaiso, and from there to the strait. In March of 1603, he reached 64 degrees and they had a lot of snow there. In the following April, they returned back to the coast of Chile.^{[citation needed]}

In 1622, a Dutch document was published in Amsterdam stating that at 64 degrees south there was land "very high and mountainous, snow cover, like the country of Norway, all white, land. It seemed to extend to the Solomon Islands."^{[citation needed]} This could be the first sighting by a European of the Antarctic Peninsula. Other historians attribute the first sighting of Antarctic land to the Dutch mariner Dirk Gerritsz. According to his account, his ship was diverted from course by a storm after transiting the Strait of Magellan in the journey of a Dutch expedition to the East Indies in 1599. Gerritsz may have sighted the South Shetland Islands, though there are doubts about his veracity. Other authorities place the first sighting of mainland Antarctica as late as 27 January 1820 by an expedition of the Imperial Russian Navy led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen.

Open ocean south of South America was reported by the Spanish navigator Francisco de Hoces in 1525^[10] and by Sir Francis Drake in 1578.^[11] The existence of Drake Passage was confirmed when the Dutch navigator Willem Schouten became the first to sail around Cape Horn en route to the East Indies in 1616.^[12] In 1772, the British James Cook circumnavigated the Southern Ocean.

19th century

After the independence of the colonies in the Americas, the new Spanish republics agreed among themselves to recognize the principle of uti possidetis, which meant that new states would have the same borders as their predecessor Spanish colonies. Therefore, the Republic of Chile consisted of all lands formerly belonging to the Captaincy General of Chile, then assumed that these titles included rights over portions of Antarctica.

In 1815, the Argentine-Irish Admiral William Brown launched a campaign to harass the Spanish fleet in the Pacific Ocean and, when passing Cape Horn, was brought down to the Antarctic Sea beyond the parallel 65°S, aboard the Argentine vessels Hércules and Trinidad. Brown's report indicated the presence of nearby ground, though he did not witness any portion of the continent and did not set foot on it.

On August 25, 1818, the Argentine government, then called the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata, granted the first concessions for hunting earless seals and penguins in the Antarctic continent to Juan Pedro de Aguirre, who operated the ship Espíritu Santo based on Deception Island.

Espíritu Santo was followed by the American brig Hercilia to Deception Island. The fact that these Argentine sealers were directed to the islands with fixed course is usually regarded as proof that it was previously known.

Between 1819 and 1821, the Russian ships Vostok and Mirny, under the command of the German Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen at the service of Russia, explored Antarctic waters. In 1821, at 69°W 53'S, he sighted an island, which he called Land of Alexander I, after the Russian Tsar. Although von Bellingshausen circumnavigated the continent twice, not a single member of his crew ever set foot on Antarctic land.

In 1819, the mariner William Smith rediscovered the South Shetland Islands, including King George Island; the American Nathaniel Palmer spotted the Antarctic Peninsula that same year. Neither of them set foot on the actual continental land mass.

In 1821, the Connecticut seal hunter John Davis reported setting foot on a southern land that he believed was indeed a continent.

In 1823, the English James Weddell claimed to have discovered the sea that now bears his name, reaching up to 74°W 15'S and 34° 17'W.

On June 10, 1829, the Government of Buenos Aires issued a decree creating the Political-Military Command of the Malvinas Islands and adjacent to Cape Horn in the Atlantic Ocean, an act that is usually considered Argentina, including the Antarctic islands.

From those years, the hunting of baleen whales and South American sea lions began to increase in the zone.

In 1831, Chile's liberator Bernardo O'Higgins wrote to the Royal Navy, saying:

Old and new Chile extends, on the Pacific from the Mejillones Bay to New South Shetland, in latitude 65° South and on the Atlantic from San Jose Peninsula at latitude 42° to New South Shetland, that means, 23° with a glut of excellent ports on both oceans, and all of them wholesome in all seasons. A simple glance at the map of South America is sufficient to prove that Chile, as is described, holds the keys of that vast portion of the South Atlantic

In 1843, a Chilean expedition founded Fort Bulnes, taking possession of the Strait of Magellan, just days before British and French ships arrived for the same purpose.

In 1856, the treaty of friendship between Chile and Argentina that recognized boundaries was enacted uti possidetis juris.

The growth of the Chilean colony in Magallanes and then in the city of Punta Arenas, allowed the founding of companies for hunting and exploitation of whales in the Antarctic seas, which requested authorization from the Chilean government. In 1894, the power for the exploitation of marine resources in the south of the parallel 54°S was given to the Punta Arenas Municipality.

20th century

In the early years of the 20th century, interest in studying the Antarctic territories increased. Some of these expeditions asked permission from the government of Chile to be performed, among which one can highlight the Swedish teacher Otto Nordenskjöld in 1902 and the British teacher Robert F. Scott in 1900. Chile also gave mining permits, as conferred on December 31, 1902, by Decree No. 3310 by Pedro Pablo Benavides to lease the Diego Ramírez Islands and San Ildefonso.

On May 8, 1906, the Whaling Society of Magallanes was created with a base in Punta Arenas. On December 1, the society was authorized to expand its territory to the South Shetland Islands, as allowed by Decree No. 1314 of the governor of Magallanes. The group expanded to Whalers Bay on Deception Island, where they hoisted the Chilean flag and installed a coal deposit. This area was visited by Jean-Baptiste Charcot in December 1908 to replenish coal, and the site was inhabited during the summer seasons until 1914.

From 1906, they began to be promulgated several decrees, even from the National Congress of Chile, for mining permits in the Antarctic area. In that same year, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile mentioned on September 18, Chilean national day, that the delimitation of Chilean Antarctic territory would be subject to preliminary investigations. On June 10 June 1907, Argentina formally protested for the mutual recognition of these Antarctic territories. A treaty was to be set to more concretely define territories in the region, but this treaty was never signed.

On July 21, 1908, the United Kingdom officially announced its claim to sovereignty over all lands within the Mediterranean, 20° and 80° south of the parallel 50°; in 1917, it was moved to 58° south, and in 1962, to the parallel 60° south.

In 1914, Anglo-Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton began an expedition to cross the South Pole from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea. With two ships, the Endurance and Aurora, he went to Antarctica, but the weather worsened dramatically until an iceberg sank the Endurance. Shackleton then sailed to Argentine ports, the Falklands and the South Georgia Islands without finding anyone willing to join the expedition trapped on an Antarctic island. In Punta Arenas, however, he found the pilot, Luis Pardo Villalón, who, while aboard the Yelcho, managed to rescue those shipwrecked on the Elephant Island. On 4 September1916, they were received at the port of Punta Arenas as heroes. The Pilot Pardo feat, sailing with temperatures close to −30 °C (−22 °F) and a stormy sea of icebergs, made him win national and international recognition.

Sovereignty and Antarctic Treaty System

On January 14, 1939, Norway declared its territorial claims on Antarctic territory between 0° and 20° (Queen Maud Land). This alarmed the Chilean government, which led President Pedro Aguirre Cerda to encourage the definition of the National Antarctic Territory. With the establishment of Decree No. 1541 on September 7, he organized a commission to examine Norway's interests in the Antarctic territory.

The commission set the bounds according to the Theory of polar areas, taking into account geographical, historical, legal, and diplomatic precedents, which were formalized by Decree No. 1747, enacted on November 6, 1940, and published on June 21, 1955.^[2] Chile considered their Antarctic rights arrived up to the meridian located further west (53° West). Thus, the country claimed to not include the South Orkney Islands in consideration of the rights of Argentina.^[a] Argentina formally protested by decree in a note on November 12 November 1940, rejecting Chile's claim and expressing a potential claim to the same area.

In the late 1940s, Argentina and Chile recognized each other's claims, stating that "Chile and Argentina have unquestionable rights of sovereignty in the polar area called American Antarctica ("Antártida Americana" in Spanish)".^{[citation needed]}

In January 1942, Argentina declared its Antarctic rights between the meridians at 25° and 68° 24' W, which includes the area of Punta Dúngeness. On September 2, 1946, Decree No. 8944 set new boundaries for the Argentine Antarctic Sector between the meridians at 25° and 74° west longitude. Finally, on February 28, 1957, Decree Law No. 2129 established the definitive limits of their claim between the meridians at 25° and 74° West and the parallel 60° South latitude. This decree established a territory which is superimposed on part of the territory claimed by Chile.

Chile began to perform acts of sovereignty in the Antarctic continent, beginning with the installation of Sovereignty Base, currently known as Arturo Prat, in 1947. The following year, as a way of settling the Chilean claims, Chilean President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla opened the Base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme. This was the first official visit of the Head of state to Antarctica.

On March 4, 1948, Chile and Argentina signed an agreement on mutual protection and legal defense of its Antarctic territorial rights, recognizing each other:

(...) until agreed, by mutual agreement, the line common neighborhood in Antarctic territories of Chile and Argentina, declared:
1) That both governments acting in agreement on legal protection and defense of their rights in American Antarctica, between the meridians 25° and 90° west longitude of Greenwich, indisputable sovereign rights are recognized by Chile and Argentina.

In 1953, the representative of India at the United Nations presented a project for the internationalization of Antarctica. This movement involved several countries without a history of acts of sovereignty over the Antarctic territory. The Chilean ambassador in New Delhi, Miguel Serrano, persuaded the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to down the proposal.^{[citation needed]}

On May 4, 1955, the United Kingdom filed two lawsuits against Argentina and Chile before the International Court of Justice, to declare invalid the claims of sovereignty of the two countries in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic areas, respectively. On July 15, 1955, the Chilean government rejected the jurisdiction of the Court in that case, and on August 1, August, Argentine government followed suit. Thus, on March 16 March 1956, claims were filed.^[13]

Law No. 11486 of June 17, 1955, added the Chilean Antarctic Territory to the Province of Magallanes, which on July 12, 1974 became the Region of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica.

In 1958, the U.S. president, Dwight Eisenhower, invited Chile to the International Geophysical Year Conference in an attempt to resolve the claiming issues. On December 1 December 1959, Chile signed the Antarctic Treaty, which stated that:

• Antarctica is a World Heritage Site.
• Gives the Antarctic territory for peaceful purposes, prevented the military installation or navy.
• The signatory countries of the treaty have the right to establish bases for scientific purposes (marine biology, Seismology, volcanology, etc.).
• Territorial claims are to be frozen, ensuring each signatory nation to a status quo for the duration of the treaty.
• In this territory, for peaceful purposes, there cannot be nuclear tests, or war, nor leave toxic waste.

In July 2003, Chile and Argentina began installing a common shelter called Abrazo de Maipú, halfway between O'Higgins bases, Chile, and Esperanza, Argentina.

Geography and climate

The Chilean Antarctic Territory covers an area of 1,250,257.6 km². Besides, for some coastal areas, the territory is covered with a thick layer of ice and snow, which can exceed 1,200 meters deep in some areas of the interior of the continent.

The Chilean claim is mainly constituted by a sector of Lesser Antarctica or West Antarctica, which includes the Antarctic Peninsula, known in Chile as the Land of O'Higgins. It is crossed longitudinally by the mountains of the Antartandes, which are the continuation of the Andes mountains. The Antartandes clearly differentiate three geographic areas in the Land of O'Higgins: the western slope, the central plateau and the eastern slope.

Antartandes reach 3,239 meters of altitude in the Mount Hope.

Within the land claimed by Chile, in the southwest of the territory are the highest summits of the Antarctic continent, including the point of highest elevation, which are part of the Sentinel Range:

• Vinson Massif of 4,897 m
• Mount Tyree of 4,852 m
• Mount Shinn of 4,800 m

The claimed territory has a subglacial lake, the Lake CECs, which was discovered in January 2014 by scientists of Centro de Estudios Científicos headquartered in Valdivia, Chile, and was validated in May 2015 with the publication in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, which is a specialist in the topic. The lake has an estimated 18 km² area, is 2.6 km deep under the ice, is located in a buffer zone of three major glaciers so it is in a low-disturbance, and its ice motion is almost nonexistent. There is a hypothesis that it could have life, this would have developed in conditions of extreme isolation and the lake is encapsulated.

Precipitation in the territory is relatively rare and decreases towards the South Pole, creating polar desert conditions.

Coastal areas more to the North, as the north of Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands, have a subarctic climate or tundra, that is, the temperature average of the warmest month exceeds 0 °C (32 °F), some lands are permafrost. The rest of the territory is under the regime of Polar climate.

Population

The Antártica Commune has a population of 150 inhabitants on the Chilean bases, according to the census conducted nationwide in 2012, corresponding to 54 civilians and 96 military. These people are mostly members of the Chilean Air Force and their families, who live mostly in Villa Las Estrellas. This town, located next to the Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, on King George Island, was opened on 9 April 1984, and has an airport, a bank, a school and child care, a hospital, a supermarket, mobile telephony and television.

In 1984 the first Antarctic Chilean, Juan Pablo Camacho Martino, was born in Villa Las Estrellas. So far, a total of three people have been born in the Chilean Bases. At present, the development of tourism has increased explosively through airplanes and cruise ships that depart from Punta Arenas or Ushuaia, Most of the flights that arrive to King George Island are handled by Dap Group.

Bases, stations, shelters and settlements

Due to the geographical characteristics of the Antarctic Peninsula (of which the territory completely encompasses), the Chilean Antarctic Territory has some of the best conditions for human settlement in Antarctica.

There are four Chilean permanent bases operating through the year, while there are five that remain open only during the summer (December – March) (Seasonal) with four shelters.

The largest population center is located in King George Island and is formed by the Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva (1980), which has an airstrip, the Meteorological Center President Frei (1969) and the Villa Las Estrellas. Belonging to Chile, this enclave is the nucleus of more important logistical support to the remaining countries with scientific bases on King George Island.

The Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, opened on the same island Base Professor Julio Escudero, chief scientific center of Chile in Antarctica.

The Chilean Navy provides logistic and other support for scientific and other activities within Chile's Antarctic territory. With respect to promoting the security and interests of Chile within the region, elements of the Maritime Authority operate throughout the region notably with the Maritime Government of Chilean Antarctica in Fildes Bay and at the Antarctic Naval Base Arturo Prat.^[14] During the 2022–23 Antarctic season, the navy transferred 730 scientists and 3,091 tons of cargo for the logistical support of the Antarctic bases. The operation involved the transport vessel Aquiles, the patrol vessel Marinero Fuentealba, as well as two supporting tugboats.^[15]

As of 2023, the navy is in the process of acquiring a new Polar 5-class icebreaker (year-round operation in medium first-year ice, which may include old ice inclusions), Almirante Viel, to support its Antarctic operations.^[16]

The navy also assists in the Mendel Polar Station belonging to Czech Republic from the January 14, 1995. The maximum is four Chilean researchers to carry out scientific work at the base. To realize this possibility, Chilean researchers must submit a letter from a leading Czech researcher, who collaborate in its proposal.

List of Chilean Antarctic Bases:

Name	Country	Location	Type
Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva	Chile	King George Island	P
Base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme	Chile	Antarctic Peninsula	P
Base Capitán Arturo Prat	Chile	Greenwich Island	P
Base Professor Julio Escudero	Chile	King George Island	P
Estación Polar Científica Conjunta "Glaciar Unión"	Chile	Union Glacier	S
Base Yelcho	Chile	Doumer Island	S
Base Doctor Guillermo Mann	Chile	Livingston Island	S
Base Presidente Gabriel González Videla	Chile	Paradise Bay	S
Base Carvajal	Chile	Adelaide Island	S
Refugio Julio Ripamonti	Chile	Ardley Island	S
Refugio Luis Risopatrón	Chile	Robert Island	S
Refugio General Jorge Boonen Rivera	Chile	Duse Bay	S
Refugio Collins	Chile	Collins Bay	S

(P): Permanent; Are open all the year. (S): Seasonal; Are open in the Austral Summer. The largest population center is located on King George Island and consists of Frei Montalva Station, which has an airport (Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin Aerodrome, ICAO Code SCRM^[17]), and which is connected to the communal capital, the village of Villa Las Estrellas, which has a town hall, hotel, day-care center, school, scientific equipment, hospital, post office and bank. This enclave is a center of logistical support for the other eight countries with scientific bases on King George Island.

Nearby Professor Julio Escudero Base, controlled by the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), under the Ministry of Foreign Relations, is the main Chilean scientific facility in Antarctica.

Captain Arturo Prat Base is a Chilean Antarctic research base located on Greenwich Island. Opened 6 February 1947, it is the oldest Chilean Antarctic base. Until 1 March 2006, it was a base of the Chilean Navy, on which date it was handed over to the regional government of Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region. Until February 2004, it had been a permanent base. Afterwards, it had served as a summer base of ionospheric and meteorological research. The base reopened in March 2008 for permanent occupancy.

The only permanent Chilean base on the Antarctic mainland (Antarctic Peninsula), Base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, has been in operation since 18 February 1948. It is located on Puerto Covadonga and it is the official communal capital.^{[citation needed]}

Seasonal bases

• Estación Polar Científica Conjunta "Glaciar Unión" 79°46′10″S 82°54′26″W / 79.76944°S 82.90722°W / -79.76944; -82.90722; (Scientific Polar Station Joint "Union Glacier" in English ) Teniente Arturo Parodi Alister Base and Antonio Huneeus Antarctic Bases moved to the new location, it is ubicated in the Ellsworth Mountains, Union Glacier. The company Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions LLC is operating the airport on the Union Glacier since 2008.
• Dr. Guillermo Mann Base 62°27′11.7″S 60°47′16.5″W / 62.453250°S 60.787917°W / -62.453250; -60.787917; summer base of the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), under the Ministry of Foreign Relations, on Livingston Island. Weather and ecological research station. Archaeological research site about former sealers. Another former Chilean refuge also called "Dr. Guillermo Mann" (or Spring-INACH), located in P. Spring (Pen. Palmer), is in ruins.^[18]
• Luis Risopatrón Base (formerly "Copper Mine Naval Refuge") 62°22′17″S 59°42′53″W / 62.37139°S 59.71472°W / -62.37139; -59.71472; summer station of the Chilean Navy at Robert Island. Geodetic, geophysical and biological research station.
• Julio Ripamondi Base 62°12′37″S 58°56′7″W / 62.21028°S 58.93528°W / -62.21028; -58.93528; little summer station of the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), located on Ardley Island, next to Frei Montalva Station and Professor Julio Escudero Base (nearby located in the King George Island). The Ripamondi Base conducts research on geodesy and cartography (since 1997), terrestrial biology (since 1988) and studies of penguins (since 1988). The base is located near a large colony of gentoo penguins.
• González Videla Antarctic Base 64°49′26″S 62°51′27″W / 64.82389°S 62.85750°W / -64.82389; -62.85750; station of the Chilean Air Force on the Antarctic mainland's Waterboat Point in Paradise Bay. It is now an "inactive" base, it started to be repaired since 2003, with fuel and supplies in storage in the buildings for emergency use, or in case the base was to be reactivated in the future. Occasional summer visits are made by Chilean scientists and tourists. The base was recently used (2011) in researches of the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH)
• Yelcho Base 64°52′33″S 63°35′02″W / 64.87583°S 63.58389°W / -64.87583; -63.58389 (ex Sub Base Yelcho) is located in the south bay of Doumer Island, Palmer archipelago, was reopened in March 2015.
• Collins Base 62°10′09″S 58°51′07″W / 62.16917°S 58.85194°W / -62.16917; -58.85194 is located in the Fildes Peninsula, King George Island. It has a capacity of two persons in summer, it is used for scientific research and is administered by the INACH.

Gallery

• 
  Pedro Aguirre Cerda Base (Closed Today), in Deception Island, 1958.
• 
  Chilean patrol Lientur in Cooper Mine, Robert Island, 1958.
• 
  Panoramic view of Villa Las Estrellas in winter.
• 
  Correos de Chile office in Antarctica.