Where are Heard Island and McDonald Islands located?

The islands are a territory (Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands) of Australia administered from Hobart by the Australian Antarctic Division of the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

Why are Heard Island and McDonald Islands isolated?

However, the site’s isolation assists in reducing anthropogenic impacts upon the site’s values. Heard Island and McDonald Islands are located in the Southern Ocean, approximately 1,700 km from the Antarctic continent and 4,100 km south-west of Perth.

What is the difference between Heard Island and McDonald Island?

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 fish Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island

How big is Heard Island & McDonald Islands?

The group's overall land area is 372 km 2 (144 sq mi) and it has 101.9 km (63 mi) of coastline. Discovered in the mid-19th century, the islands lie on the Kerguelen Plateau in the Indian Ocean and have been an Australian territory since 1947. Heard Island and McDonald Islands contain Australia's only two active volcanoes.

Is there a threat to Heard Island and the McDonald Islands?

Ongoing and accelerating climate change poses an increasing risk of fundamental alterations in biodiversity. Geological processes (primarily volcanism and glacial retreat) continue undisturbed. The overall assessment is that there is a low threat to the World Heritage values of Heard Island and the McDonald Islands if visitation remains low.

What is the significance of Heard Island & McDonald Islands?

Heard Island and the McDonald Islands, with the Kerguelen Islands, are exposed parts of the Kerguelen Plateau, possibly the largest submarine plateau on earth, and provide geochemical and isotopic insights into the formation of oceanic plateaux, mantle plume development and the separation of Australia, India and Africa from Antarctica.