East Base
{{Infobox settlement
| name = East Base
| settlement_type = Antarctic research station
| image_skyline = East Base - Stonington Island.jpg
| image_caption = The abandoned base, February 2007
| pushpin_map = Antarctica
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Antarctica
| pushpin_relief = y
| coordinates = {{Polecoord|-68.1838|-66.9980|type=station|title=y}}
| subdivision_type = Region
| subdivision_name = Antarctic Peninsula
| subdivision_type1 = Location
| subdivision_name1 = Stonington Island
| established_title = Established
| established_date = {{start date|1939|df=y}}
| extinct_title = Evacuated
| extinct_date = {{end date|1948|df=y}}
| government_type = Administration
| governing_body = United States Antarctic Service Expedition
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m =
| population_footnotes =
| population_as_of =
| population_blank1_title = Summer
| population_blank1 =
| population_blank2_title = Winter
| population_blank2 =
| timezone1 =
| utc_offset1 =
| blank_name_sec1 = Active times
| blank_info_sec1 = All year-round
| blank1_name_sec1 = Activities
| blank1_info_sec1 =
| blank2_name_sec1 = Facilities
| blank2_info_sec1 =
}}
East Base on Stonington Island is the oldest American research station in Antarctica, having been commissioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939. The station was built as part of two US wintering expeditions – United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939–1941) and Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (1947–1948). The base covers {{convert|1000|m}} from north to south and {{convert|500|m}} from east to west. The base was accorded the status of one of the Historic Sites and Monuments in Antarctica on 7 May 2004.{{cite web |url=http://www.ats.aq/devPH/apa/ep_protected_detail.aspx?type=1&id=130&lang=e |title=HSM 55: East Base |publisher=Antarctic Treaty Secretariat |access-date=12 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015458/https://www.ats.aq/devPH/apa/ep_protected_detail.aspx?type=1&id=130&lang=e |archive-date=7 February 2019 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.ats.aq/devAS/info_measures_listitem.aspx?lang=e&id=181 |title=Recommendation ATCM XV-12 (Paris, 1989) |publisher=Antarctic Treaty Secretariat |access-date=12 February 2017 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/east-base |title=East Base |publisher=Atlas Obscura |access-date=12 February 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213001210/http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/east-base |archive-date=13 February 2017 }}
First expedition
The Antarctic Service Expedition was the first government-funded expedition of Admiral Richard E. Byrd (his first two expeditions in 1928–1930 and 1933–1935 were privately funded). East Base was built using Army knockdown buildings and a crew of 23 led by Richard Black, after Admiral Byrd had to return to Washington on the USS Bear. The war time pressures and pack-ice in the bay which prevented ship movement led to the evacuation of the base in 1941 by air.{{cite web|url=http://www.palmerstation.com/history/8595/eastbasecrm.pdf |title=CRM at East Base, Antarctica – Palmer Station |publisher=Palmer Station |access-date=12 February 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226181634/http://www.palmerstation.com/history/8595/eastbasecrm.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2010 }}
Second expedition and subsequent decline
A private expedition led by Finn Ronne (second in command in the 1941 expedition) in 1947 ended with the participants' evacuation in 1948. The expedition crew included Jackie Ronne and Jennie Darlington, who became the first women to spend a winter in Antarctica. The base and all its equipment have since not been utilized, even though the British Antarctic Survey developed Base E in the vicinity of East Base. The British also occupied and modified the East Base during the construction of Base E. As of 2017, the base is frequented by tourists arriving on the continent.{{cite web |url=https://www.ats.aq/siteguidelines/documents/Stonington_island_e.pdf |title=Stonington Island – The Antarctic Treaty Secretariat |publisher=Antarctic Treaty Secretariat |access-date=12 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923200314/http://www.ats.aq/siteguidelines/documents/Stonington_island_e.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/17/AR2009061703502.html |title=Obituary: Edith 'Jackie' Ronne, First U.S. Woman on Antarctica |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=17 February 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195138/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/17/AR2009061703502.html |archive-date=3 March 2016 }}John C. Behrendt {{Google books|_dm9AwAAQBAJ|Innocents on the Ice|page=99|text=Jackie Ronne}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Portal bar|Earth sciences|Geography|United States}}
{{Antarctica}}
{{Antarctic research stations}}
{{Historic Sites and Monuments in Antarctica}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Outposts of Antarctica
Category:Weather extremes of Earth
Category:Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica