The Punta Arenas-Union Glacier Corridor

Territorial Configuration of the Chilean Antarctic Logistics System (1981–2023)

Abstract

This article reconstructs the territorial configuration of Chile’s Antarctic logistics system in the Punta Arenas-Glaciar Unión corridor between 1981 and 2023, identifying the nodes, routes, and infrastructure that comprise it and analyzing its evolution over time in three phases. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with six polar operators who participated directly in the construction of this system over four decades, supplemented by a review of documents and field observations on King George Island. The analysis adopts a conceptual framework centered on the geography of transport, the concept of incremental territorialization, and the notion of the territorial mediator. The results show that the corridor did not result from centralized state planning, but rather emerged progressively from the convergence of international private exploration and mountaineering initiatives, institutional support from the Chilean Air Force, and the operational experience accumulated in the field by specialized civilian actors. The discovery and development of the Patriot Hills blue ice fields and the Union Glacier emerge as the most significant territorial milestone of the period: it transformed the corridor from a coastal network into a system reaching the heart of the continent, less than 1,130 kilometers from the geographic South Pole, consolidating Chile’s effective presence in the area of greatest strategic value within its Antarctic claim.