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

NOTE: The information regarding Heard Island and McDonald Islands on this page is re-published from the 1990 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Heard Island and McDonald Islands Geography 1990 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Heard Island and McDonald Islands Geography 1990 should be addressed to the CIA.