McMurdo Station | |
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![]() McMurdo Station from Observation Hill | |
Location of McMurdo Station in Antarctica | |
Coordinates: 77°50′47″S 166°40′06″E / 77.846323°S 166.668235°E | |
Country | ![]() |
Location in Antarctica | Ross Island, Ross Dependency; claimed by New Zealand. |
Administered by | United States Antarctic Program of the National Science Foundation |
Established | 16 February 1956 |
Named for | Archibald McMurdo |
Elevation | 10 m (30 ft) |
Population | |
• Summer | 1,000 |
• Winter | 153 |
Time zone | UTC+12 (NZST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (NZDT) |
UN/LOCODE | AQ MCM |
Type | All year-round |
Period | Annual |
Status | Operational |
Activities | List
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Facilities[2] | List
|
Website | www.nsf.gov |
McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research station on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand–claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), a branch of the National Science Foundation. The station is the largest community in Antarctica, capable of supporting up to 1,500 residents,[1][3] and serves as one of three year-round United States Antarctic science facilities. All personnel and cargo going to or coming from Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station first pass through McMurdo. McMurdo Station continues to operate as the hub for American activities on the Antarctic continent. By road, McMurdo is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from New Zealand's smaller Scott Base.