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

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Heard Island and McDonald Islands
(territory of Australia)


 See regional map XII



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


People


Population: uninhabited


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)


Economy


Overview: no economic activity


Communications


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only


Defense Forces


Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia