Antarctic Place-names Commission
 Bulgaria in Antarctica |
| Bulgarian Antarctic Institute |
| National Centre of Polar Research |
| St. Kliment Ohridski Base |
| Lame Dog Hut |
| Livingston Island Museum |
| St. Ivan Rilski Chapel |
| Camp Academia |
| Tangra 2004/05 |
| Bulgarian toponyms in Antarctica |
| Antarctic Place-names Commission |
| Military Geographic Service |
The Antarctic Place-names Commission was established by the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute in 1994, and since 2001 has been a body affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.
The Commission approves Bulgarian place names in Antarctica, which are formally given by the President of the Republic according to the Bulgarian Constitution (Art. 98) and the established international practice.
Geographical names in Antarctica reflect the history and practice of Antarctic exploration. The nations involved in Antarctic research give new names to nameless geographical features for the purposes of orientation, logistics, and international scientific cooperation. As of 2016, there are some 19,500 named Antarctic geographical features, including 1,335 features with names given by Bulgaria. Since the Bulgarian Antarctic base is situated in the South Shetland Islands, most of the Bulgarian place names are concentrated in that area too, especially on Livingston Island, Greenwich Island, Robert Island, Snow Island, and Smith Island. However, two early Bulgarian names were given even in 1989 (by the then State Council, a collegial presidency) to geographical features on Alexander Island in relation to field work carried out on that island by the first Bulgarian Antarctic expedition during the 1987/88 season.
In 1995 the Commission developed its own defining the relevant types of geographical features, specific elements of geographical names, inappropriate names, criteria of names approval, language and spelling, and names approval procedures. In particular, the Guidelines introduced the Streamlined System that was subsequently adopted as the official national system for the Romanization of Bulgarian, eventually becoming part of Bulgarian law by way of the 2009 , and endorsed also by UN in 2012 and by the USA and UK in 2013.
...
Wikipedia