Macquarie Island
Overview
Macquarie Island (34 km long x 5 km wide) is an oceanic island in the Southern Ocean, lying 1,500 km south-east of Tasmania and approximately halfway between Australia and the Antarctic continent. The island is the exposed crest of the undersea Macquarie Ridge, raised to its present position where the Indo-Australian tectonic plate meets the Pacific plate. It is a site of major geoconservation significance, being the only place on earth where rocks from the earth’s mantle (6 km below the ocean floor) are being actively exposed above sea-level. These unique exposures include excellent examples of pillow basalts and other extrusive rocks.
About Macquarie Island
Macquarie Island is a subantarctic island in the south-western Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. It has been governed as a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1880. It became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978 and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
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Components(1 location)
- •Macquarie Island629rev
Details
- Countries
- Australia
- ISO Codes
- AU
- Area
- 557,280 ha
- Coordinates
- -54.5947, 158.8956
Stay Nearby
Macquarie Island
Attractions & Tickets
Macquarie Island
Getting Here
Macquarie Island