Chilean Antarctic Territory

Not to be confused with Antártica Chilena Province or Antártica (commune).

Chilean Antarctic Territory
Territorio Chileno Antártico
Coat of arms of Chilean Antarctic Territory
Coat of arms
Location in Antarctica.
Location in Antarctica.
Country Chile
RegionMagallanes and Chilean Antarctica
ProvinceAntártica Chilena
CommuneAntártica
Claimed6 November 1940
Government
 • GovernorJorge Flies
 • Regional delegateJosé Ruiz Pivcevic
 • MayorPatricio Fernández
 • INACH DirectorGino Casassa
Area
[1]
 • Total
1,250,257.6 km2 (482,727.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2012 Census)[1]
 • Total
115
 • Density0.00009/km2 (0.0002/sq mi)
Sex
[1]
 • Men100
 • Women15
Time zoneUTC-3
Area code56 + 61
CapitalVilla Las Estrellas
CurrencyChilean Peso
Websitehttp://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,[2] partially overlapping the Antarctic claims of Argentina (Argentine Antarctica) and the United Kingdom (British Antarctic Territory). It constitutes the Antártica commune of Chile.

The territory covers the South Shetland Islands, the Antarctic Peninsula (called O'Higgins Land—Tierra de O'Higgins—in Chile), and the adjacent islands of Alexander Island, Charcot Island and Ellsworth Land, among others. Its boundaries are defined by Decree 1747, issued on November 6, 1940, and published on June 21, 1955,[3] by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

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.

The commune of Antártica has an area of 1,250,257.6 km2.[4] If reckoned as Chilean national territory, it comprises 62.28% of the total area of the country. It 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 the province of Antártica Chilena, which itself is a part of the region of Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena. The commune was created on July 11, 1961, and was part of the Magallanes Province until 1974, when the Antártica Chilena Province was created.

Chilean sovereignty over the Chilean Antarctic Territory is exercised in conformity with the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. This treaty established that Antarctic activities are to be devoted exclusively to peaceful purposes by the signatories and acceding countries, thereby freezing territorial disputes and preventing the construction of new claims or the expansion of existing ones.[5]

The Chilean Antarctic Territory corresponds geographically to time zones 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.

  1. ^ a b c "Censo 2012 – Población total contabilizada, censada y estimada de moradores ausentes, por sexo e índice de masculinidad, según región, provincia, comuna y área urbana – rural. (población incluyendo estimación de moradores ausentes)" (in Spanish). National Statistics Institute. Archived from the original (xls) on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  2. ^ Lin, Camille. "Chile, Antarctica and the new constitution". Polarjournal. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Fija Territorio Chileno Antártico" (in Spanish). Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Chilean Antarctica". Patagonia Chile. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  5. ^ "The Antarctic Treaty (1959)". British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved 28 February 2024.