Argentine Antarctica

75°00′S 49°30′W / 75.000°S 49.500°W / -75.000; -49.500

Argentine Antarctica
Antártida Argentina
Argentine Antarctica map since 1950. Orcadas base from 1904.
Argentine Antarctica map since 1950. Orcadas base from 1904.
Official seal of Argentine Antarctica
Location in Antarctica
Location in Antarctica
Country Argentina
Province Tierra del Fuego
First expedition1901–1904
Founded byJosé María Sobral
Government
 • GovernorGustavo Melella
Area
 • Total1,461,597 km2 (564,326 sq mi)
 • Land965,597 km2 (372,819 sq mi)
 [1]
Population
 (2010 Census)[1][2]
 • Total469
 • Density0.00032/km2 (0.00083/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-3
Argentine Postal Code
9411
Area codes0054 + 02901
Esperanza and Marambio Stations: 0054 + 02964
First baseOrcadas Base (1904)[3]
Number of bases13 bases (6 permanents and 7 seasonals)
64 others (huts, refuges, camps)
WebsiteDNA.gov.ar

Argentine Antarctica (Spanish: Antártida Argentina or Sector Antártico Argentino)[4] is an area on Antarctica claimed by Argentina as part of its national territory. It consists of the Antarctic Peninsula and a triangular section extending to the South Pole, delimited by the 25° West and 74° West meridians and the 60° South parallel.[5] This region overlaps with British and Chilean claims in Antarctica. None of these claims have widespread international recognition.

Argentina's Antarctic claim is based on its presence on a base on Laurie Island in the South Orkney Islands since 1904, along with the area's proximity to the South American continent, and is subject to the Antarctic Treaty.[6][7]

Administratively, Argentine Antarctica is a department of the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands. The provincial authorities are based in Ushuaia.[8] Argentine activities in Antarctica are coordinated by the Instituto Antártico Argentino (IAA) and Argentine Antarctic Program.

The Argentine exploration of the continent started early in the 20th century. José María Sobral was the first Argentine to set foot on Antarctica in 1902, where he spent two seasons with the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of Otto Nordenskiöld. Shortly afterward, in 1904, the Orcadas Permanent Base was established. Years later, other permanent and seasonal bases were constructed. The first Argentine expedition to reach the South Pole was the 1965 Operación 90.

The estimated area of Argentine Antarctica is 1,461,597 km2 (564,326 sq mi), of which 965,597 km2 (372,819 sq mi) is land. The ice of the glaciers over the territory's surface has an average thickness of 2 kilometres. Temperatures fall in a typical range from 0°C in summer to -60°C in winter, although in certain points the temperature may drop to as low as -82°C and may rise to 18°C.[9]

Time zone UTC-3 is used in the area, as in Argentina.

Argentina has six permanent Antarctic stations and seven summer stations.

According to the Argentine national census, in October 2010, Argentine Antarctica had 230 inhabitants (including 9 families and 16 children) at six permanent bases: 75 at Marambio, 66 at Esperanza, 33 at Carlini, 20 at San Martín, 19 at Belgrano II, and 17 at Orcadas.[10] Provisional results of the 2022 Argentine national census indicate 130 inhabitants for Argentine Antarctica.[11] Residents take part in general elections within Tierra del Fuego Province.[12]

  1. ^ a b "Provincia según departamento. Población, superficie y densidad. Años 1991 y 2001". Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Primeros resultados del Censo: 230 personas habitan la Antártida - Diario Los Andes". Archived from the original on 28 October 2010.
  3. ^ "Destacamento Naval Orcadas" [Orcadas Naval Base] (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Fundación Marambio. 1999. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013.
  4. ^ Pequeño Larrouse Ilustrado 1990, para la Argentina, ajustado a la cartografía oficial por el Poder Ejecutivo Nacional a través del Instituto Geográfico Militar (IGM) acorde Ley 22.963 aprobada por expediente del 5-10-1989.
  5. ^ Beck, Peter J. (1986). The international politics of Antarctica. Routledge. p. 119. ISBN 0-7099-3239-1.
  6. ^ La Antártica Chilena. p. 173. Escrito por Oscar Pinochet de la Barra. Publicado por Andrés Bello, 1976.
  7. ^ "The Antarctic Treaty" (PDF). Inventory of International Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  8. ^ "división política. Provincia de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur. Provincia santa cruz" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  9. ^ Readfearn, Graham (7 February 2020). "Antarctica logs hottest temperature on record with a reading of 18.3C". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Censo 2010: en la Antártida viven 230 personas, 9 familias y 16 niños | Ciudadanos". La Voz del Interior (in Spanish). 25 October 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  11. ^ "INDEC: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos de la República Argentina". www.indec.gob.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  12. ^ de 2021, 16 de Noviembre (16 November 2021). "Elecciones 2021: Juntos por el Cambio arrasó en la Antártida y el Frente de Todos quedó tercero". infobae (in Spanish).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)