Marble Point

Marble Point is a rocky promontory on the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica, located at 77° 26' S latitude and 163° 50' E longitude. The United States operates a station at the point. The outpost is used as a helicopter refueling station supporting scientific research in the nearby continental interior such as the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Weather permitting, helicopters are able to fly in and out of the station 24 hours a day during the summer research season.

The station's remote location and adjoining frozen sea have largely stemmed tourism in the area. However, the Russian icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov conducts cruises in the Ross Sea and McMurdo Sound. In 1993, the icebreaker docked at fast ice offshore Marble Point. Tourists aboard helicopters launched from the icebreaker flew excursions into the McMurdo Dry Valleys.

Development

The way station at Marble Point is located on a narrow strip of land between Wilson Piedmont Glacier and the sea about 50 miles from McMurdo Station. United States military forces built the camp on the western shores of McMurdo Sound in 1956 in conjunction with the forthcoming 1957-58 International Geophysical Year (IGY).