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

53 06 S, 72 31 E

Antarctic Region

slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC

0 km

101.9 km

antarctic

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

fish

0 sq km (2011)

Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island

NA

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