Heard and McDonald Islands
Satellite image of the southern tip of Heard Island. Cape Arkona is seen on the left side of the image, with Lied Glacier just above and Gotley Glacier just below. Big Ben Volcano and Mawson Peak are seen at the lower right side of the image.
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Indian Ocean |
| Major islands | 2 |
| Area | 368 km2 (142 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 2,745 m (9,006 ft) |
| Highest point | Mawson Peak |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 (1 January 2011) |
| Additional information | |
| Official name | Heard and McDonald Islands |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | viii, ix |
| Designated | 1997 (21st session) |
| Reference no. | 577 |
| State Party | Australia |
| Region | Asia-Pacific |
The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (abbreviated as HIMI) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall size is 372 square kilometres (144 sq mi) in area and it has 101.9 km (63 mi) of coastline. Discovered in the mid-19th century, the islands have been an Australian territory since 1947 and contain the country's only two active volcanoes. The summit of one, Mawson Peak, is higher than any mountain on the Australian mainland. The islands lie on the Kerguelen Plateau in the Indian Ocean.
The islands are among the most remote places on Earth: They are located approximately 4,099 km (2,547 mi) southwest of Perth, 3,845 km (2,389 mi) southwest of Cape Leeuwin, Australia, 4,200 km (2,600 mi) southeast of South Africa, 3,830 km (2,380 mi) southeast of Madagascar, 1,630 km (1,010 mi) north of Antarctica, and 450 km (280 mi) southeast of the Kerguelen Islands. The islands are currently uninhabited.
Heard Island, by far the largest of the group, is a 368-square-kilometre (142 sq mi) bleak and mountainous island located at 53°06′S 73°31′E / 53.100°S 73.517°E. Its mountains are covered by 41 glaciers (the island is 80% covered with ice) and dominated by Mawson Peak, a 2,745-metre (9,006 ft) high complex volcano which forms part of the Big Ben massif. A July 2000 satellite image from the University of Hawaii's Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) Thermal Alert Team showed an active 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) long (and 50–90 metres (164–295 ft) wide) lava flow trending south-west from the summit of Big Ben.
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