The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands is an Australian external territory in the southern Indian Ocean. Discovered in the mid-19th century, the territory is a group of sub-Antarctic volca
Heard Island
1887 drawing of Heard Island
Processing of elephant seals on Heard Island
Corinthian Bay during a 2016 private expedition to Heard Island
Kerguelen Islands
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The Kerguelen Islands, also known as the Desolation Islands, are a group of islands in the subantarctic region. They are among the most isolated places on Earth, with the closest territory being the H
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
…place in 1853 when the island was spotted by the American captain John Heard aboard Oriental. Other sailors had reported observing land south of the Kerguelen Islands during the 1830s and 1840s, but whether they in fact sighted Heard Island is unclear. Researchers have suggested that earlier sightings of the island…
Port-Christmas and the Kerguelen Arch on 2 January 1893, a day after France reasserted its claim to Kerguelen
The islands are named after French explorer Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec.
Christmas Harbour, Kerguelens Land, 1811, by the English engraver George Cooke; the location is now known as Port-Christmas
Illustration from John Nunn's book about the three years he and his shipwrecked crew survived on the island in the 1820s.