Background: American sailor John HEARD discovered Heard Island in 1853 and thought it was a glacier that had broken away from Antarctica. Fellow American William MCDONALD discovered the McDonald Islands the following year. Starting in 1855, sealers lived on the islands harvesting elephant seal oil; by the time the practice was ended in 1877, most of the islands’ seals were killed. The UK formally claimed the islands in 1910 and Australian explorer Douglas MAWSON visited Heard Island in 1929. In 1947, the UK transferred the islands to Australia for its Antarctica research, but Australia closed the research station on Heard Island in 1954 when it opened a new research station on the Antarctic continent. McDonald Island has been an active volcano since it emerged from dormancy in 1992, and the island doubled in size after an eruption in 1996. In 1997, the islands were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Populated by a large number of bird species, seals, and penguins, the islands are primarily used for research with limited fishing being permitted in the surrounding waters.

Geographic coordinates: 53 06 S, 72 31 E

Map reference: Antarctic Region

Area
Total: 412 km²
Land: 412 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries
Total: 0 km

Coastline: 101.9 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate: antarctic

Terrain: 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

Elevation
Highest point: Mawson Peak on Big Ben volcano 2,745 m
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use
Agricultural land: 0% (2011 est.)
Other: 100% (2018 est.)

Natural hazards: Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island

Geography
Note: 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

Population: uninhabited

Age structure
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: NA
Youth dependency ratio: NA
Elderly dependency ratio: NA
Potential support ratio: NA

Birth rate: NA

Death rate: NA

Environment
Current issues: none; uninhabited and mostly ice covered

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: NA
Improved rural: NA
Improved total: NA
Unimproved urban: NA
Unimproved rural: NA
Unimproved total: NA

Current health expenditure: NA

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: NA

Country name
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

Legal system: the laws of Australia apply where applicable

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (territory of Australia)
From the us embassy: none (territory of Australia)

Flag description: the flag of Australia is used

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 1 (natural); note - excerpted from the Australia entry
Selected World Heritage Site locales:

Internet
Country code: .hm

Ports and terminals: none; offshore anchorage only

Disputes international: none identified

Illicit drugs: NA