antártica (11. 879)

Established in April of 1984 with the second person born on the continent in November of that year, we learn via Nag on the Lake of the larger of two permanent settlements just north of the Antarctic Circle on King George Island that is not a research outpost. With about one hundred fifty inhabitants during the summer and eighty hardy souls in the winter, the remote Villa Las Estrellas which arguably seems to exist in order to legitimise the Chilean claim against the overlapping British and Argentine ones—the latter having founded Base Esperanza in 1953, the community of fourteen homes has several amenities, though some like the school, souvenir shop, hostel and the post office which formerly was a significant draw for philately fans seeking to have a stamp cancelled with an Antarctic post mark seem to have closed in recent years at least temporarily, but the infirmary, fitness facility/cultural centre and library remain to support the community. More southerly and significantly smaller with a civilian population of only ten families, the Argentine settlement seems better outfitted.