Belgrano II

Belgrano II Base Base Belgrano II
Antarctic base
View of Belgrano II, austral summer of 2007
Belgrano II Base Location within Antarctica
Coordinates: 77°52′26″S 34°37′35″W / 77.87389°S 34.62639°W / -77.87389; -34.62639Coordinates: 77°52′26″S 34°37′35″W / 77.87389°S 34.62639°W / -77.87389; -34.62639
Country	Argentina
Province	Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands Province
Department	Antártida Argentina
Region	Confin Coast, Coats Land
Location	Bertrab Nunatak
Founded	February 5, 1979 (1979-02-05) (1978–79 austral summer season)
Named for	Manuel Belgrano
Government
• Type	Directorate
• Body	Dirección Nacional del Antártico
• Operator	Instituto Antártico Argentino
Area	6 ha (15 acres)
Elevation	250 m (820 ft)
Population	Summer: 12 Winter: 12
Time zone	ART (UTC-3)
Type	All year-round
Period	Annual
Status	Active and operational
Facilities	Main house Personnel houses Emergency house/infirmary Airstrip Heliport Chapel Museum Radio and satellite station Power plant Vehicle fleet Vehicle garage Laboratory (meteorology, astronomy, seismography, riometry) Workshop Warehouses and deposits

Belgrano II Base (Spanish: Base Belgrano II) is a permanent, all year-round Argentine Antarctic base and scientific research station named after General Manuel Belgrano, one of the Libertadores and the creator of the Argentine Flag. It is located on Bertrab Nunatak on the Confín Coast, Coats Land.

As of 2014^[update] it is Argentina's southernmost permanent base, the world's third further south permanent base, and the world's southmost base built on solid rock, which makes it particularly suited for geological research.

As of 2014^[update] Belgrano II is one of 13 research bases in Antarctica operated by Argentina.

In 1955, then Brigade General Hernán Pujato founded the first Belgrano Base (Belgrano I), which remained for years as Argentina's southernmost settlement.

After a continuous activity for 25 years, Belgrano I was closed due to the fast deterioration of the ice barrier it was sitting on; new, often hidden cracks and crevices endangered the on-duty personnel and material. In order to continue the scientific programs and keep Argentina presence in the area, and after careful studies on alternative locations done by the Argentine Army, it was decided to lay the new facilities on solid land. Amid the vast expanse of ice that covers the region, only two small masses of granite emerge: the Moltke and Bertrab nunataks, both first sighted and named by Filchner's expedition in 1912. Belgrano II was founded on 5 February 1979 over the latter, a hectare of permanently ice-free land. Also and despite being farther south and higher than Belgrano I, the climate was significantly milder.