The World Factbook (1990)/Heard Island and McDonald Islands

by United States Central Intelligence Agency

 

Heard Island and McDonald Islands
(territory of Australia)

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 See regional map XII

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Geography

Total area: 412 km²; land area: 412 km²

Comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 101.9 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 12 nm

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploration

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: antarctic

Terrain: Heard Island bleak and mountainous, with an extinct volcano; McDonald Islands small and rocky

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other

Environment: primarily used as research stations

Note: located 4,100 km southwest of Australia in the southern Indian Ocean

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People

Population: uninhabited

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Government

Long-form name: Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Type: territory of Australia administered by the Antarctic Division of the Department of Science in Canberra (Australia)

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Economy

Overview: no economic activity

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Communications

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

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Defense Forces

Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia