Antarctica
Scott’s hut from the Terra Nova expedition is steeped in an incredible feeling of history. Here, dog skeletons bleach on the sand in the Antarctic sun,…
Must-see attractions in Antarctica
Antarctica
Shackleton erected this structure on his Nimrod expedition in February 1908. Fifteen men lived in the hut, which is much smaller than Scott’s at Cape…
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
Antarctica
The South Pole station was built in phases, so the first group of occupants was able to take up residence in January 2003, and it was officially…
Antarctic Peninsula
This steep-sided channel – just 1600m (5250ft) wide – runs for 11km (7 miles) between the mountains of Booth Island and the Peninsula. So photogenic that…
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
The great peat slip of 1886, a landslide which killed two people and damaged numerous buildings, wiped out Stanley’s Holy Trinity Church. The foundation…
Antarctica
The resplendent flags of the original 12 Antarctic Treaty signatories surround this red-and-white-striped ‘barber’ pole, capped by a chromium globe, so it…
Antarctica
Most of the scientific facilities at the Pole are off-limits to visitors, to avoid disrupting research. Other laboratories are off-limits because their…
Antarctica
In February 1899, four years after Kristensen’s landing here, Borchgrevink was back at Cape Adare as the leader of the Southern Cross expedition. It took…
South Georgia
Shackleton’s grave is the highlight of the whalers’ cemetery at Grytviken. ‘The Boss’ is buried at the left rear of the graveyard. On the back of the…
Antarctica
Compared to McMurdo’s ‘urban sprawl,’ just 3km away by gravel road, New Zealand’s Scott Base looks positively pastoral. An orderly collection of lime…
Antarctic Peninsula
Britain beautifully restored the original station building, Bransfield House, the main building of Base A, in 1996. Displays on the station’s history hang…
King George Island
Chile constructed this station, known as Frei station, in 1969 on the nearly ice-free Fildes Peninsula at the island’s southwestern tip, and 10 years…
Antarctica
Scott’s National Antarctic Expedition built this hut in February 1902 on aptly named Hut Point. The prefabricated building, purchased in Australia, is of…
Antarctic Peninsula
Palmer was built in 1968 on the island’s southwest coast to honor American sealer Nathaniel B Palmer, who in 1820 was one of the first to see Antarctica…
Antarctic Peninsula
The Swedish South Polar Expedition’s prefabricated black-walled hut, the Antarctic Peninsula’s oldest remaining building, is a protected historic site…
Antarctica
Located at the southeastern tip of the Schirmacher oasis and on the shores of Lake Stantsionnoye, Russia’s Novolazarevskaya Station is named for Mikhail…
Antarctic Peninsula
Argentina built this base in 1951, though a naval post was established here in 1930. Esperanza was significantly expanded in 1978 and women and children…
Antarctica
Named after Captain John King Davis, master of ships used on expeditions led by Shackleton and Mawson, Australia’s Davis Station is a colorful collection…
Antarctic Peninsula
The UK’s Rothera, built in 1975, occupies a small peninsula on Adelaide’s southeast coast. A 900m gravel airstrip and hangar were added in 1990–91, making…
Antarctic Peninsula
This Ukrainian base, which accommodates 24 people, is located on Galindez Island. Transferred from the UK in 1996 for £1 (look for the actual coin…
King George Island
Russia set up Bellingshausen station in 1968 and it is now separated from Frei base by a small stream. After a fuel-tank farm was established,…
Antarctic Peninsula
On the fast ice about 400m from the low ice cliffs on Snow Hill Island’s south coast is Antarctica’s northernmost (and most accessible) emperor penguin…
Crary Science & Engineering Center
McMurdo Station
Symbolically numbered ‘Building 1,’ this center, usually called the ‘Crary Lab,’ is named for Albert P Crary, a geophysicist and glaciologist who was the…
Antarctica
The Southern Cross expedition’s zoologist, Norwegian Nicolai Hansen, died on October 14, 1899, probably of an intestinal disorder: the first human death…
Antarctica
The Geographic South Pole (Geodetic Pole) marks the spot at one end of the Earth’s axis of rotation (the other being the North Pole). It is indicated by a…
King George Island
Poland’s Arctowski station, opened in 1977, was named for a geologist on Adrien de Gerlache’s Belgica expedition and houses 40 people. Female visitors…
Antarctica
Mawson intended to have two separate huts, one housing 12 men, the other six. But it was decided to join the two, creating an accommodation area and a…
Antarctica
At the coast, Italy operates summer-only Mario Zucchelli Station, which accommodates 90 people. The station, a collection of blue buildings with orange…
McMurdo Station
Building 155 is McMurdo’s indoor Main St, and the long central corridor is known as Hwy 1. Along it are the dining facility (still known as the Galley…
King George Island
Brazil’s Commandante Ferraz Station on Admiralty Bay, opened in 1983–84, is located between an old whaling station and the site of the abandoned British…
South Georgia
When entering this wonderful museum, be sure to look up to see the wandering albatross mounted overhead. Unless you’re a scientist, this is the closest…
Antarctica
In early 2008 a six-tractor caravan left China’s Zhongshan Station, covering the 1300km traverse to Dome A in three weeks to set up the PLATO Observatory…
Antarctic Peninsula
East Base was built during aviator Richard Byrd’s third Antarctic expedition, the US Antarctic Service Expedition of 1939–41. It was also used in 1947–48…
Antarctica
Australia's Mawson Station was established in February 1954. Named for Douglas Mawson, an Australian Antarctic explorer, it is the oldest continuously…
South Georgia
The restored Whalers’ Church, consecrated on Christmas Day, 1913, is a typical Norwegian church. Indeed, it was originally erected in Strømmen before…
Antarctic Peninsula
Goudier Island is home to 800 pairs of gentoos. Monitoring of their breeding success since 1995 has found no discernible impact from tourists, who tramp…
Antarctica
Maitri, Hindi for friendship, is a long, U-shaped, tan-colored building with a large Indian flag over the entrance. Maitri’s winter and summer complement…
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Vernet’s lieutenant Matthew Brisbane was murdered by gauchos after British naval officer JJ Onslow left him in charge of Port Louis in August 1833. In…
McMurdo Station
The white Chapel of the Snows, a 64-seat house of worship with a pretty, penguin-motif stained-glass window and an organ, is the third chapel raised at…
Antarctic Peninsula
The Adélie rookery just offshore is often visited in conjunction with Palmer Station. Since 1974, however, the Adélie population here has dropped by 60%…
