Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva


Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva is the most important Antarctic base of Chile. It is located at Fildes Peninsula, an ice-free area, in front of Fildes Bay, at the west end of King George Island, South Shetland Islands. Situated alongside the Escudero Station in Villa Las Estrellas and only from the Russian Bellingshausen Station, it is at an altitude of above sea level. The base is located in the Chilean commune of Antártica, which is the Antarctic territory claimed by Chile.
Also nearby are the bases of Great Wall, General Artigas Station, King Sejong Station, Carlini Base, Commandante Ferraz, Henryk Arctowski and Machu Picchu Base. Further away is Captain Arturo Prat Base, also Chilean, 50 km to the west.

Description

It has a -long airstrip, with 50 intercontinental and 150 intracontinental flights each season, serving as a means of transport to many nearby bases. It also includes the Villa Las Estrellas residential area that has a hospital, a school, a bank, a small supermarket, etc. The maximum population during summer is of 150 people, and the average during winter is about 80 people.
It began to operate in 1969 as Centro Meteorológico Eduardo Frei. When the installations were expanded, it was renamed as Base Teniente Rodolfo Marsh, with the meteorology center keeping its original name. During the 1990s, all of the installations came to be named Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, with the airstrip retaining the name Teniente Rodolfo Marsh.

Climate

Like the coastal areas of Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic islands south of the 60º parallel, the area has a tundra climate, that could be considerably borderline "maritime-influenced polar climate", thanks to temperatures that rarely drop below in winter, and temperatures that could soar a few digits above freezing for most parts of the year. The base's area and its vicinity experiences a rather heavy precipitation, with an average precipitation rate of yearly, which makes it unusual on the Antarctic continent, as the continent is significantly drier than the islands are to the north.