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Heard Island and McDonald Islands
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<p>The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) is an <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australian</a> <a href="/facts/States_and_territories_of_Australia/kUd6AV5c">external territory</a> comprising a <a href="/facts/Volcanic_group/kLzoGwmu">volcanic group</a> of mostly barren <a href="/facts/Antarctic/xPPVrxBE">Antarctic</a> islands, about two-thirds of the way from <a href="/facts/Madagascar/ez12IAcY">Madagascar</a> to <a href="/facts/Antarctica/bEM5Lem5">Antarctica</a>. The group's overall land area is 372 km2 (144 sq mi) and it has 101.9 km (63 mi) of coastline. Discovered in the mid-19th century, the islands lie on the <a href="/facts/Kerguelen_Plateau/NxlY0Uzt">Kerguelen Plateau</a> in the <a href="/facts/Indian_Ocean/Kv0crwKG">Indian Ocean</a> and have been an Australian territory since 1947. </p><p>Heard Island and McDonald Islands contain Australia's only two active <a href="/facts/Volcano/c2M5upml">volcanoes</a>. The summit of one, <a href="/facts/Mawson_Peak/wQcBCuAE">Mawson Peak</a>, is higher than any mountain in all other Australian states, territories or <a href="/facts/Land_claim/s1hzkvqn">claimed territories</a>, except <a href="/facts/Dome_Argus/NzjNHSF7">Dome Argus</a>, <a href="/facts/Mount_McClintock/VoNtMKFE">Mount McClintock</a> and <a href="/facts/Mount_Menzies/SvuV9J2N">Mount Menzies</a> in the <a href="/facts/Australian_Antarctic_Territory/ShdvzznK">Australian Antarctic Territory</a>. This Antarctic territory is a land claim unrecognised by most other countries, meaning that Mawson Peak is the highest mountain with undisputed Australian <a href="/facts/Westphalian_sovereignty/ctCapu7u">sovereignty</a>. </p><p>The islands are among the <a href="/facts/Extreme_points_of_Earth/XUSkDfp2">most remote places on Earth</a>: They are located about 4,100 kilometres (2,500 miles; 2,200 nautical miles) southwest of <a href="/facts/Perth/63YUr99S">Perth</a>, 3,850 km (2,390 mi; 2,080 nmi) southwest of <a href="/facts/Cape_Leeuwin/s5CsljTB">Cape Leeuwin</a>, Australia, 4,200 km (2,600 mi; 2,300 nmi) southeast of <a href="/facts/South_Africa/vvXQpLgq">South Africa</a>, 3,830 km (2,380 mi; 2,070 nmi) southeast of <a href="/facts/Madagascar/ez12IAcY">Madagascar</a>, 1,630 km (1,010 mi; 880 nmi) north of Antarctica, and 450 km (280 mi; 240 nmi) southeast of the <a href="/facts/Kerguelen_Islands/w3rpWVNf">Kerguelen Islands</a> (part of <a href="/facts/French_Southern_and_Antarctic_Lands/4A67SWWj">French Southern and Antarctic Lands</a>). </p><p>The islands, which are uninhabited, can be reached only by sea, and typically require a two-week voyage from Australia to visit. </p>