Heard and McDonald Islands World Heritage Site

Official name
Heard and McDonald Islands | UNESCO
Country
Australia | Map
Continent
Australia
Location
Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands
-53.1000° Lat, 73.5000° Lon | Map
Code
577
Time Zone
Australia/Sydney (AEDT, +1100)
Current Time
Category
Natural
Description
Inscribed 1997. Heard Island and McDonald Islands are located in the Southern Ocean, approximately 1,700 km from the Antarctic continent and 4,100 km south-west of Perth. As the only volcanically active subantarctic islands they ‘open a window into the earth’, thus providing the opportunity to observe ongoing geomorphic processes and glacial dynamics. The distinctive conservation value of Heard and McDonald – one of the world’s rare pristine island ecosystems – lies in the complete absence of alien plants and animals, as well as human impact.