Melchior Base
Melchior Base
Estación Melchior | |
|---|---|
| Base Melchior | |
Melchior Base, February 2010 | |
Location of Melchior Station in Antarctica | |
| Coordinates: 64°19′33″S 62°58′36″W / 64.325705°S 62.976733°W | |
| Country | Argentina |
| Province | Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands Province |
| Department | Antártida Argentina |
| Region | Palmer Archipelago Bellingshausen Sea Antarctic Peninsula |
| Location | Gamma Island Melchior Islands Dallmann Bay |
| Established | March 31, 1947 (1946–47 austral summer season) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Directorate |
| • Body | Dirección Nacional del Antártico |
| • Operator | Instituto Antártico Argentino |
| Elevation | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Population (2017) | |
| • Summer | 12 |
| • Winter | 0 |
| Time zone | UTC-3 (ART) |
| Type | Summer-only |
| Status | Active and operational |
| Activities | Botany |
| Facilities | List
|
Melchior Base (Spanish: Base Melchior or, seldom, Estación Melchior) is an Argentine Antarctic base and scientific research station. It is located on Gamma Island (which the Argentines call Isla Observatorio), Melchior Islands, Dallmann Bay, in Palmer Archipelago on Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctic Peninsula.
It is Argentina's second historical Antarctic base, after the 1904 establishment of the Orcadas Naval Detachment, the world's first—and oldest—permanent settlement in Antarctica.
As of 2014 Melchior is one of 13 research bases in Antarctica operated by Argentina. From 1947 to 1961 it served as a permanent base; since then it is open during the summer season only.