Argentine Antarctica the first on the continent. On 18 December 2012, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom announced that the southern part of British Antarctic Territory (and Argentine Antarctica) has been named "Queen Elizabeth Land" in honour of Queen Elizabeth II. Argentina, which lays claim to part of the area, criticised the naming. In 2013 the Argentine Defense Ministry announced that Petrel Base will become a permanent base by 2015. The base will have an airport and logistics for transfer of passengers and cargo. The geographic structure of the Argentine Antarctica continues some features of the Patagonia, located to
Showa Station (Antarctica) Showa Station (Antarctica) , sometimes alternately spelled Syowa Station, is a Japanese permanent research station on East Ongul Island in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. Built in 1957, Showa Station is named for the era in the Japanese calendar during which it was established, the Shōwa period. Showa Station serves as a research outpost for astronomy, meteorology, biology and earth sciences. It comprises over 60 separate buildings, large and small, including a 3-storey administration building, living quarters, power plant, sewage treatment facility, environmental science building, observatory, data processing facility, satellite building, ionospheric station, incinerator, earth science building, and radiosonde station. Also