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Antarctica :: HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS
Page last updated on September 13, 2016
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HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS
  • Introduction :: HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS

  • The UK transferred these uninhabited, barren, sub-Antarctic islands to Australia in 1947. Populated by large numbers of seal and bird species, the islands have been designated a nature preserve.
  • Geography :: HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS

  • islands in the Indian Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica
    53 06 S, 72 31 E
    Antarctic Region
    total: 412 sq km
    land: 412 sq km
    water: 0 sq km
    country comparison to the world: 203
    slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC
    0 km
    101.9 km
    territorial sea: 12 nm
    exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
    antarctic
    Heard Island - 80% ice-covered, bleak and mountainous, dominated by a large massif (Big Ben) and an active volcano (Mawson Peak); McDonald Islands - small and rocky
    mean elevation: NA
    elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
    highest point: Mawson Peak on Big Ben volcano 2,745 m
    fish
    agricultural land: 0%
    arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 0%
    forest: 0%
    other: 100% (2011 est.)
    Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island
    NA
    Mawson Peak on Heard Island is the highest Australian mountain (at 2,745 meters, it is taller than Mt. Kosciuszko in Australia proper), and one of only two active volcanoes located in Australian territory, the other being McDonald Island; in 1992, McDonald Island broke its dormancy and began erupting; it has erupted several times since, most recently in 2005
  • People and Society :: HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS

  • uninhabited
  • Government :: HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS

  • conventional long form: Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands
    conventional short form: Heard Island and McDonald Islands
    abbreviation: HIMI
    etymology: named after American Captain John HEARD, who sighted the island on 25 November 1853, and American Captain William McDONALD, who discovered the islands on 4 January 1854
    territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (Australian Antarctic Division)
    the laws of Australia, where applicable, apply
    none (territory of Australia)
    none (territory of Australia)
    the flag of Australia is used
  • Economy :: HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS

  • The islands have no indigenous economic activity, but the Australian Government allows limited fishing in the surrounding waters. Visits to Heard Island typically focus on terrestrial and marine research and infrequent private expeditions.
  • Communications :: HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS

  • .hm
  • Transportation :: HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS

  • none; offshore anchorage only
  • Military and Security :: HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS

  • defense is the responsibility of Australia; Australia conducts fisheries patrols
  • Transnational Issues :: HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS

  • none