Adélie Land (Terre Adélie) is a claimed territory on the continent of Antarctica. It stretches from a portion of the Southern Ocean coastline all the way inland to the South Pole. The coast of Adélie Land was discovered in 1840 by the French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville (1790–1842) who named…
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King Edward VII Land
King Edward VII Land or King Edward VII Peninsula is a large, ice-covered peninsula which forms the northwestern extremity of Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica. The peninsula projects into the Ross Sea and forms part of the Ross Dependency. Edward VII Peninsula was discovered on 30 January 1902 by the…
View More King Edward VII LandRoss Dependency
The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a sector originating at the South Pole. It is claimed by New Zealand. Since the Antarctic Treaty came into force in 1962, most countries do not recognise territorial claims in Antarctica. The Dependency takes its name from Sir James Clark…
View More Ross DependencyMarie Byrd Land
Marie Byrd Land is the portion of West Antarctica lying east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and south of the Pacific Ocean, extending eastward approximately to a line between the head of the Ross Ice Shelf and Eights Coast. The name was originally applied by Admiral…
View More Marie Byrd LandBalleny Islands
The Balleny Islands are a series of uninhabited islands in the Southern Ocean. The islands are heavily glaciated and of volcanic origin. The islands are one of two Antarctic areas claimed by Westarctica that are not part of Marie Byrd Land (the other is Peter I Island). Jorge Fernandez Vidal…
View More Balleny IslandsWestarctica
On 2 November 2001, the entirety of Marie Byrd Land was claimed by the Achaean Territory of Antarctica by Travis McHenry, who proclaimed himself Consul-General prior to filing his legal claim to the territory. In 2004, the status was elevated from territory to a sovereign nation with the name Westarctica. …
View More WestarcticaPeter I Island
Peter I Island is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Bellingshausen Sea. Nearly all of the island is covered by a glacier and it is surrounded most of the year by pack ice, making it inaccessible almost all year round. There is little life on the island apart from seabirds…
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Chilean Antarctic Territory
The Chilean Antarctic Territory or Chilean Antarctica (Antártica Chilena) is the territory in Antarctica claimed by Chile. It is administered by the Cabo de Hornos municipality in the South American mainland. The territory claimed by Chile covers the South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula, called Tierra de O’Higgins (Graham Land) in…
View More Chilean Antarctic TerritoryAustralian Antarctic Territory
The Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) is a part of East Antarctica administered by the Australian Antarctic Division, an agency of the federal Department of the Environment and Energy. The territory’s history dates to a claim on Enderby Land made by the United Kingdom in 1841, which was subsequently expanded and…
View More Australian Antarctic TerritorySouth Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the islands’ sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for non-military purposes. The islands have been claimed by the United Kingdom since 1908…
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