Marie 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 Byrd in 1929, in honor of his wife, to the northwestern part of the area, the part that was explored in that year.Because of its remoteness, even by Antarctic standards, most of Marie Byrd Land has not been claimed by any sovereign state. It is by far the largest single unclaimed territory on Earth.

In 1939, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt instructed members of the United States Antarctic Service Expedition to take steps to claim some of Antarctica as United States territory. Although this appears to have been done by members of this and subsequent expeditions, these do not appear to have been formalized prior to 1959, when the Antarctic Treaty System was set up. Some publications in the United States have shown this as a United States territory in the intervening period, and the United States Defense Department has stated that United States has a solid basis for a claim in Antarctica resulting from its activities prior to 1959.

On 2 November 2001, the entirety of Marie Byrd Land was claimed by the Achaean Territory of Antarctica. In 2004, the status was elevated from territory to a sovereign nation with the name Westarctica. Although all signatory nations of the Antarctic Treaty are legally unable to recognize new claims to Antarctica, the United States, Russia, and the United Nations have all formally recognized Westarctica’s willingness to take responsibility for the ecological preservation of Marie Byrd Land.

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