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. Westarctica (officially the Grand Duchy of Westarctica, formerly known as the Protectorate of Westarctica) is a micronation. In 2018 the government of Westarctica established an honorary consul in Nerja, Spain.
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…
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…
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…