Villa Las Estrellas

Villa Las Estrellas (in Spanish, "The Stars Village") is a Chilean town in Antarctica. It is one of the only two towns on the continent where families live. The other is Esperanza Base, from Argentina. Villa Las Estrellas is part of the larger Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva.

 Description 
About 80 people live in Villa Las Estrellas in the winter, and up to 150 in the summer. Most of them are officers from the Chilean Air Force and their families. They usually live there for about two years before going back to Chile.

The town has a number of buildings that make it a small village. These include:
A school for children
A hospital
A bank
A post office, where you can send postcards with a special Antarctic stamp
A small church

People who live here are part of a special community. The town is used to help scientists and other workers. It is also a way for Chile to show that it has a right to its part of Antarctica. Because the closest big hospital is very far away, some people who move there must have their appendix taken out before they go.

The town is a very important place for all the other bases on King George Island.
Category:Antarctica
Category:Research stations in Antarctica