28-01-2010, 04:33 PM
(This post was last modified: 28-01-2010, 04:39 PM by Charles Drago.)
Sometime between my initial visit to the location and today, the buildings -- that's what they are -- have been identified as Sanae IV, a South African research station.
It is described thusly on the Geocaching website:
South Africa's SANAE-IV base is located on the top of the Vesleskarvet (Norwegian for "little barren mountain") nunatak in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. This outcrop of rock is about 200km from the edge of the ice shelf.
South Africa has had a permanent presence in Antarctica since 1959 when it took over the Norwegian base. This became SANAE-I. It was followed by SANAE-II and SANAE-III, all of which were constructed on the ice shelf. The latter was decommisioned during the summer of 1994, at which time it was buried deep beneath the snow.
The vista from the SANAE-IV base consists of snow and ice stretching to the distant horizon, regularly penetrated by mountain peaks. The base itself consists of three linked blocks, each of which has two levels. The length of the base is 176m. The entire base stands on stilts 4m above the rocky surface.
A photo of the base is attached.
Hmmm ...
It is described thusly on the Geocaching website:
South Africa's SANAE-IV base is located on the top of the Vesleskarvet (Norwegian for "little barren mountain") nunatak in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. This outcrop of rock is about 200km from the edge of the ice shelf.
South Africa has had a permanent presence in Antarctica since 1959 when it took over the Norwegian base. This became SANAE-I. It was followed by SANAE-II and SANAE-III, all of which were constructed on the ice shelf. The latter was decommisioned during the summer of 1994, at which time it was buried deep beneath the snow.
The vista from the SANAE-IV base consists of snow and ice stretching to the distant horizon, regularly penetrated by mountain peaks. The base itself consists of three linked blocks, each of which has two levels. The length of the base is 176m. The entire base stands on stilts 4m above the rocky surface.
A photo of the base is attached.
Hmmm ...
Charles Drago
Co-Founder, Deep Politics Forum
If an individual, through either his own volition or events over which he had no control, found himself taking up residence in a country undefined by flags or physical borders, he could be assured of one immediate and abiding consequence: He was on his own, and solitude and loneliness would probably be his companions unto the grave.
-- James Lee Burke, Rain Gods
You can't blame the innocent, they are always guiltless. All you can do is control them or eliminate them. Innocence is a kind of insanity.
-- Graham Greene
Co-Founder, Deep Politics Forum
If an individual, through either his own volition or events over which he had no control, found himself taking up residence in a country undefined by flags or physical borders, he could be assured of one immediate and abiding consequence: He was on his own, and solitude and loneliness would probably be his companions unto the grave.
-- James Lee Burke, Rain Gods
You can't blame the innocent, they are always guiltless. All you can do is control them or eliminate them. Innocence is a kind of insanity.
-- Graham Greene