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Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Heard Island and McDonald Islands Geography Stats

Definitions

  • Area > Comparative: The area of various small countries expressed in comparison to various areas within the United States of America.
  • Area > Comparative to US places: This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
  • Area > Land: Total land area in square kilometres
  • Area > Total: Total area in square kilometers
  • Area > Water: Total water area in square kilometers
  • Climate: A brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.
  • Coastline: The total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
  • Elevation extremes > Highest point: Highest point above sea level
  • Elevation extremes > Lowest point: This entry is derived from Geography > Elevation extremes, which includes both the highest point and the lowest point.
  • Geographic coordinates: This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude figures for the purpose of finding the approximate geographic center of an entity and is based on the Gazetteer of Conventional Names, Third Edition, August 1988, US Board on Geographic Names and on other sources.
  • Note: This entry includes miscellaneous geographic information of significance not included elsewhere.
  • Irrigated land: The number of square kilometers of land area that is artificially supplied with water.
  • Land use > Arable land: The percentage of used land that is arable. Arable land is land cultivated for crops that are replanted after each harvest like wheat, maize, and rice
  • Land use > Other: The percentage share of used land that is not arable or under permanent crops. This includes permanent meadows and pastures, forests and woodlands, built-on areas, roads, barren land, etc.
  • Land use > Permanent crops: The percentage share of used land on which permanent crops are grown. This is land cultivated for crops that are not replanted after each harvest like citrus, coffee, and rubber. It includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees, and vines, but excludes land under trees grown for wood or timber.
  • Location: The country's regional location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
  • Map references: The name of the CIA World Factbook reference map on which a country may be found. The entry on Geographic coordinates may be helpful in finding some smaller countries.
  • Marine Coastline: Length of each country's coastline in kilometers.
  • Maritime claims > Exclusive fishing zone: Exclusive fishing zone - while this term is not used in the LOS Convention, some States (e.g. the United Kingdom) have chosen not to claim an EEZ, but rather to claim jurisdiction over the living resources off their coast; in such cases, the term exclusive fishing zone is often used.
  • Maritime claims > Territorial sea: territorial sea - the sovereignty of a coastal State extends beyond its land territory and internal waters to an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea in the LOS Convention (Part II); this sovereignty extends to the air space over the territorial sea as well as its underlying seabed and subsoil; every State has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles. A full and definitive definition can be found in the Law of the Sea (LOS) Convention.
  • Natural hazards: Potential natural disasters.
  • Natural resources: A country's mineral, petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance.
  • Population density: People per square kilometre, in 1999. At this time the world average was 14.42.
  • Terrain: A brief description of the topography
STAT AMOUNT DATE RANK HISTORY
Area > Comparative slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC 2013
Area > Comparative to US places slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC 2008
Area > Land 412 sq km 2008 193th out of 235
Area > Total 412 sq km 2013 202nd out of 251
Area > Water 0.0 2013 162nd out of 246
Climate antarctic 2013
Coastline 101.9 km 2014 163th out of 242
Elevation extremes > Highest point Mawson Peak on Big Ben volcano 2,745 m 2013
Elevation extremes > Lowest point Indian Ocean 0 m 2013
Geographic coordinates 53 06 S, 72 31 E 2013
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 2013
Irrigated land 0.0 2012 21st out of 32
Land boundaries 0 2005
Land use > Arable land 0.0 2013 218th out of 246
Land use > Other 100% 2011 4th out of 245
Land use > Permanent crops 0.0 2013 208th out of 247
Location islands in the Indian Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica 2013
Map references Antarctic Region 2013
Marine Coastline 101.9 km 2014 163th out of 242
Maritime claims > Exclusive fishing zone 200 nautical mile 2013 5th out of 32
Maritime claims > Territorial sea 12 nautical mile 2013 27th out of 198
Natural hazards Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island 2011
Natural resources fish 2013
Population density 0.0 1999 235th out of 255
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 2013

SOURCES: CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011; All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008; CIA World Factbooks 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; CIA Factbook: List of countries by coastline size; Heal The World Foundation.

Citation

NationMaster

Heard Island and McDonald Islands Geography Profiles (Subcategories)

Area 5 Land use 3

Heard Island and McDonald Islands categories

Background Geography Military
Economy Government People
Environment Media Transport

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