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 (AEST, +1000)

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.