Heard Island and McDonald Islands Geography 2001

Location: Southern Africa, islands in the Indian Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica

Geographic coordinates: 53 06 S, 72 31 E

Map references: Antarctic Region

Area:
total: 412 sq km
land: 412 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 101.9 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM

Climate: antarctic

Terrain: Heard Island - bleak and mountainous, with a quiescent volcano; McDonald Islands - small and rocky

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Southern Ocean 0 m
highest point: Big Ben 2,745 m

Natural resources: none

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)

Natural hazards: Heard Island is dominated by a dormant volcano called Big Ben

Environment - current issues: NA

Geography - note: primarily used for research stations

NOTE: The information regarding Heard Island and McDonald Islands on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Heard Island and McDonald Islands Geography 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Heard Island and McDonald Islands Geography 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.