| 135th | Top sovereign states |
| Australian Antarctic Territory | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 Map of Antarctica
indicating Australian claim
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| (and research station) | Mirny Station (Russia) | |||
| Area | ||||
| - | Total | 5,896,500 km2 2,276,651 sq mi |
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| Population | ||||
| - | estimate | less than 1,000 | ||
| Currency | hatfields | |||
| Calling code | 672 | |||
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The Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) is the part of Antarctica claimed by Australia and is the largest territory of Antarctica claimed by any nation. The claim is formally recognised by only four States, each of which also has a claim over part of the Antarctic[1]. AAT consists of all the islands and territory south of 60°S and between 45°E and 160°E, except for Adélie Land (136°E to 142°E), which divides the territory into Western AAT (the larger portion) and Eastern AAT. It is bounded by Queen Maud Land in the West and by Ross Dependency in the East. The area is estimated at 5,896,500 km².[1] The territory is inhabited only by the staff of research stations. The Australian Antarctic Division administers the area primarily by maintaining three year-round stations (Mawson, Davis and Casey), which support various research projects.
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The territory is divided into nine districts, which are from West to East:
| No. | District | Area (km²) | Western Border | Eastern Border |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enderby Land | 045° E | 056°25' E | |
| 2 | Kemp Land | 056°25' E | 059°34' E | |
| 3 | Mac Robertson Land | 059°34' E | 072°35' E | |
| 4 | Princess Elizabeth Land | 072°35' E | 087°43' E | |
| 5 | Kaiser Wilhelm II Land | 087°43' E | 091°54' E | |
| 6 | Queen Mary Land | 091°54' E | 100°30' E | |
| 7 | Wilkes Land | 2,600,000 | 100°30' E | 136°11' E |
| 8 | George V Land | 142°02' E | 153°45' E | |
| 9 | Oates Land | 153°45' E | 160°00' E |
Active and closed stations in the territory, from West to East:
The United Kingdom first claimed Victoria Land on 9 January 1841 and then claimed Enderby Land in 1930. In 1933, a British imperial order transferred territory south of 60° S and between meridians 160° E and 45° E to Australia.
That part of His Majesty's dominions in the Antarctic Seas which comprises all the islands and territories other than Adélie Land which are situated south of the 60th degree of South Latitude and lying between the 160th degree of East Longitude and the 45th degree of East Longitude is hereby placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia.[2]
Australian Antarctic Territory Acceptance Act 1933
That part of the territory in the Antarctic seas which comprises all the islands and territories, other than Adelie Land, situated south of the 60th degree south latitude and lying between the 160th degree east longitude and the 45th degree east longitude, is hereby declared to be accepted by the Commonwealth as a Territory under the authority of the Commonwealth, by the name of the Australian Antarctic Territory.[3]
The borders with Adélie Land were fixed definitively in 1938. In 1947, Britain transferred Heard Island and McDonald Islands to the territory. On 13 February 1954,[4] Mawson Station was established as the first Australian station on the continent proper.
Australia's claim to sovereignty over the Australian Antarctic Territory is recognised by the United Kingdom, New Zealand, France and Norway.[5] Japan does not recognise this claim.[6] Japan also does not recognise the Australian claim to Australian Antarctic territorial waters in which Japanese ships conduct whaling.[2]
Australia issues postage stamps for the Australian Antarctic Territory. The first issues came in 1957, and sporadically thereafter, settling into a pattern of an annual issue by the 1990s. All have been Antarctic-themed, and all are valid for postage in Australia, so in practice they are just Australian stamps with a different inscription.
Assigned the Country calling code +672, four Antarctic bases operated by Australia can be reached by direct calling from anywhere in the world. The area codes are 10-6 for Davis, 11-7 for Mawson, 12-8 for Casey and 13-9 for Macquarie Island, in each case followed by three additional digits.
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East Antarctica, also called Greater Antarctica, constitutes the majority (two-thirds) of the Antarctic continent, lying on the Indian Ocean side of the Transantarctic Mountains. It is the coldest, windiest, driest and most isolated land mass on earth, and includes a number of high mountains.
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Almost completely covered in thick, permanent ice, East Antarctica comprises Coats Land, Queen Maud Land, Enderby Land, Mac Robertson Land, Wilkes Land and Victoria Land. All but a small portion of this region lies within the Eastern Hemisphere, a fact that has suggested the name. The name has been in existence more than 90 years (Balch, 1902; Nordenskjöld, 1904), but its greatest use followed the International Geophysical Year (1957-58) and explorations disclosing that the Transantarctic Mountains provide a useful regional separation of East Antarctica and West Antarctica. The name was approved (in the US) by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) in 1962. East Antarctica is generally higher than West Antarctica, and is considered the coldest place on Earth.
The three largest mountain ranges in Antarctica are the West Antarctica Ranges, the Transantarctic Mountains, and the East Antarctica Ranges. The subglacial Gamburtsev Mountain Range, about the size of the European Alps, in the center of East Antarctica are believed to have been the nucleation site for the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Very little of East Antarctica is not covered with ice, but the small areas that are, including the McMurdo Dry Valleys inland, constitute a tundra-type biodiversity region known as Maudlandia Antarctic desert, after Queen Maud Land. Only a very limited plant life that can survive here, certainly no trees or shrubs, and the flora consists of lichens, moss, and algae, adapted to the cold and wind and living on and between the rocks.
The coasts are home to seabirds, penguins, and seals, which feed in the surrounding ocean, including the Emperor Penguin, which famously breeds in the cold, dark Antarctic winter.
Seabirds of the coast include Southern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides), the scavenging Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus), Cape Petrel (Daption capense), Snow Petrel (Pagodroma nivea), the small Wilson's Storm-petrel (Oceanites oceanicus), the large South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki), and Antarctic petrel (Thalassoica antarctica).
The seals of the Antarctic Ocean include Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes weddellii), the huge Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina), Crabeater Seal (Lobodon carcinophagus), Ross Seal (Ommatophoca rossii).
There are no large land animals but bacteria, nematodes, springtails, mites, and midges live on the mosses and lichens [1].
The remote and extremely cold bulk of Antarctica remains almost entirely unspoiled by human intervention. The area is protected by the Antarctic Treaty System which bans industrial development, waste disposal and nuclear testing, while the Barwick Valley, one of the Dry Valleys, and Cryptogam Ridge on Mount Melbourne are specially protected areas for their unspoilt plant life.
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This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document "East Antarctica" (content from the Geographic Names Information System). Coordinates: 80°S 80°E / 80°S 80°E
East Antarctica is a region of Antarctica. Although the term is a bit counterintuitive for a continent straddling the south pole (meaning one could continue traveling eastward indefinitely), it refers to the region's location in the "eastern" hemisphere, nearest Australia.
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   | Australian Antarctic Gazetteer - Search Antarctic Names |
| | Russian stations - [aari.aq]: Russian Antarctic Expedition - Project Antarctica - AARI |
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