Detaille Island
| Detaille Island | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 66°52’0"S, 66°19’60"W |
| Data | |
Detaille Island is a small island of the British Antarctic Territory, found in the Lallemand Fjord off the Loubet Coast of Graham Land, off the northern end of Arrowsmith Peninsula.
The ground is predominantly rocky. It is a bleak place: there are no records of any breeding birds nor beasts on Detaille Island and only one species of lichen has been recorded at here.
From 1956 to 1959 the island it was home to "Station W" of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey.[1][2] It is now visited with some frequency by Antarctic cruise ships.
Detaille Base
| Detaille Base | |
 | |
|---|---|
| Information |
Detaille Base 'W' was established in 1956 as a British science base primarily for survey, geology and meteorology and to contribute to the International Geophysical Year in 1957.
The base closed after just three years, in March 1959 when solid sea ice prevented the base from being restocked for the season. The ship was unable to break through the sea ice and reach the island so the men secured the buildings for winter and sledged over 25 miles across the sea ice in order to reach the ship, taking with them only the minimum of their belongings and scientific records.
As a relatively unaltered base from the late 1950s, Base 'W' provides an important reminder of the science and living conditions that existed when the Antarctic Treaty was signed 50 years ago. The completeness of both the buildings and artefacts (there are an estimated 5,000 on site) provide an evocative insight into the way the base was occupied during this period. In addition to the base building itself, there are also dog kennels, an emergency store, fuel drum and cargo depots, an anemometer tower and wireless masts.
Base W, Detaille Island, was designated HSM No. 83 in 2009. The base was made structurally secure and weather tight by a UKAHT work party in the 2010–11 season.
Outside links
- Detaille Visitor Guide – Antarctic Treaty
- Detaille Information Sheet – UK Antarctic Heritage Trust
- Detaille blog
