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Heard and McDonald Islands

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Australia
Date of Inscription: 1997
Criteria: (viii)(ix)
Core zone: 38600 ha
Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands
S53 6 0 E73 30 0
Ref: 577rev

Brief Description

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.

Justification for Inscription

The Committee inscribed this property under criteria (viii) and (ix). It noted that this site is the only volcanically active sub-Antarctic island and illustrates ongoing geomorphic processes and glacial dynamics in the coastal and submarine environment and sub-Antarctic flora and fauna, with no record of alien species. The Committee repeated its request by the sixteenth session for further documentation on the marine resources of the site.

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