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
Argentine Antarctica Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands. The provincial authorities reside in Ushuaia and the Governor annually designates his or her delegate for the Antarctica region. The "civil power" of any of the administrators extends no further than that nation's own bases. The South Orkney Islands are part of "Islas del Atlántico Sur" (South Atlantic Islands) Department, which include Falkland Islands and South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (according to Argentine claim). The Argentine exploration of the continent started early in the 20th century. José María Sobral was the first Argentine to set foot on Antarctica in 1902, where he spent