Bellingshausen Station

Bellingshausen Station
Bellingshausen base in winter
Bellingshausen base in winter
Location of Bellingshausen Station in Antarctica
Location of Bellingshausen Station in Antarctica
Bellingshausen Station
Location of Bellingshausen Station in Antarctica
Coordinates: 62°11′55″S 58°57′38″W / 62.198591°S 58.960547°W / -62.198591; -58.960547
CountryRussia
Location in AntarcticaCollins Harbour
King George Island
South Shetland Islands
Administered byRussian Antarctic Expedition
Established22 February 1968 (1968-02-22)
Named forFabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen
Elevation16 m (52 ft)
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Summer
40
 • Winter
20
UN/LOCODEAQ BHN
TypeAll year-round
PeriodAnnual
StatusOperational
Activities
List
  • Biology
  • Ecology
  • Flora (lichen studies)
  • Hydrology
  • Ornithology
WebsiteArctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Bellingshausen Station (Russian: станция Беллинсгаузен) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) Antarctic station at Collins Harbour, on King George Island of the South Shetland Islands. It was one of the first research stations founded by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1968. It is also the location of Trinity Church, the only permanently staffed Eastern Orthodox church in Antarctica.

Location of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands.

The station is named for the 19th-century Russian explorer of the Antarctic Fabian von Bellingshausen.

The station is connected by unimproved roads to the nearby stations: Chilean Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chinese Great Wall Station, and Uruguayan Artigas Base.[2]

It is antipodal to a location in Russian Siberia, ~400 km west from Yakutsk.

In October 2018, it was the site of the first attempted murder in Antarctica.[3]

  1. ^ a b Antarctic Station Catalogue (PDF) (catalogue). Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs. August 2017. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-473-40409-3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  2. ^ USAIT 2006
  3. ^ "Antarctica scientist stabbed colleague for spoiling book endings". 30 October 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2019.