- Port Lockroy
Port Lockroy is a natural harbour on the
Antarctic Peninsula of theBritish Antarctic Territory . After its discovery in 1903 by theFrench Antarctic Expedition it was used for whaling and British military operations (Operation Tabarin ) duringWorld War II and then continued to operate as a British research station until 1962.In 1996 Port Lockroy was renovated and is now a museum and
post office operated by the [http://www.ukaht.org/portlockroy.htm United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust] . It is designated as "Historic Site no. 61" under the Antarctic Treaty and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Antarctica. Proceeds from the small souvenir shop fund the upkeep of the site and other historic sites and monuments inAntarctica .Port Lockroy was named after
Edouard Lockroy , a French politician and Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies, who assistedJean-Baptiste Charcot in obtaining government support for the French expedition.A major experiment on the island is to test the effect of tourism on penguins. Half the island is open to tourists, while the other half is reserved for penguins. So far, interestingly, the results show that tourism has a slight positive effect on penguins, possibly due to the presence of people being a deterrent to
skua s - Antarctic birds that prey on penguin chicks and eggs.External links
* [http://www.pgoimages.com/gallery.php?gall=g_antarctica_portlockroy Images from Port Lockroy]
* [http://www.ukaht.org/portlockroy.htm United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust, Port Lockroy.] Accessed 30 January 2007
* [http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/About_Antarctica/Heritage/Stations/port_lockroy.html British Antarctic Survey: Port Lockroy Station.] National Environment Research Council. URL accessed on May 13, 2006.
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