Wilkes Station

Wilkes Station is an abandoned research facility on Clark Peninsula in Antarctica, composed of several Clements huts and semi-cylindrical Jamesway storage buildings. The structures are spread across the ice and still contain original equipment and supplies from the period of operation.

The United States built the station in 1957 as part of the International Geophysical Year, a worldwide scientific project. Australia took over the facility in 1959 and operated it for additional research before eventually abandoning it.

American and Australian researchers worked side by side at this facility, conducting shared studies on weather and Earth's magnetic properties. Their collaboration demonstrated how scientists could cooperate effectively even in one of the world's most remote locations.

The station remains buried under ice for most of the year but is partially exposed every four to five years during thaw periods. Visitors should know that access depends heavily on weather and ice conditions, and special permits are required.

The facility contains around 7000 fuel drums and countless objects frozen in ice, creating a kind of time capsule of Antarctic research operations. These frozen artifacts offer insight into the daily life and equipment of researchers from that era.