Belgrano I Base
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Belgrano I Base Base Belgrano I |
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|---|---|
| Antarctic base | |
 Belgrano I Base
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| Coordinates: 77°46′S 38°11′W / 77.767°S 38.183°WCoordinates: 77°46′S 38°11′W / 77.767°S 38.183°W | |
| Country |
 Argentina
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| Province | Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands Province |
| Department | Antártida Argentina |
| Region | Filchner Ice Shelf |
| Location | Piedrabuena Bay |
| Founded | January 18, 1955 (1954–55 austral summer season) |
| Evacuated | 1980 |
| Named for | Manuel Belgrano |
| Government | |
| • Type | Directorate |
| • Body | Dirección Nacional del Antártico |
| • Operator | Instituto Antártico Argentino |
| Elevation | 32 m (105 ft) |
| Time zone | ART (UTC-3) |
| Type | All year-round (1955–1980) |
| Period | Annual |
| Status | Abandoned since 1980 over safety concerns. Remains presumed lost in Southern Ocean |
| Facilities |
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Belgrano I Base (Spanish: Base Belgrano I) was 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 was located on Piedrabuena Bay on the Filchner Ice Shelf.
At the time of its inauguration in 1954 it became Argentina's southernmost permanent base. It was shut down in 1980 over safety concerns due to it being built on increasingly unstable ice, which endangered both personnel and equipment. A new, larger replacement base was established further south, and named Belgrano II, followed by Belgrano III, which became the southernmost of the three.
On 18 November 1954 the Antarctic Naval Task Force commanded by then Ship-of-the-Line Captain Alicio E. Ogara sailed from Buenos Aires with the objective of setting up a base on the Filchner Ice Shelf that would serve as a launch point for expeditions to the South Pole. The fleet consisted of ARA Bahía Buen Suceso, ARA Bahía Aguirre, ARA Punta Loyola, ARA Chiriguano, ARA Sanavirón, ARA Yamana and the icebreaker ARA General San Martín.
On 2 January 1955 the expedition sailed up to the southernmost point of the Weddell Sea at 78° 01' S. At the time it was the highest austral latitude ever reached by boat, and a new world record was set. The task force then sailed north along the ice wall, seeking for an anchoring place.
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