Friday 2 March 2012

577 AU - Heard and McDonald Islands (1997)

Brief Description

"Heard Island and McDonald Islands are located in the Southern Ocean, approximately 1,700 km from the Antarctic continent and 4,100 km south-west of Perth. As the only volcanically active subantarctic islands they ‘open a window into the earth’, thus providing the opportunity to observe ongoing geomorphic processes and glacial dynamics. The distinctive conservation value of Heard and McDonald – one of the world’s rare pristine island ecosystems – lies in the complete absence of alien plants and animals, as well as human impact."

赫德岛和麦克唐纳群岛

"赫德岛和麦克唐纳群岛位于南大洋,距南极洲约1700公里,离佩思(Perth)西南部约 4100公里。作为亚南极唯一的活火山群岛,这两个岛屿打开了“地球心底之窗”,为人类提供了观察正在进行的地貌变化过程和冰河运动的机会。对于赫德岛和 麦克唐纳群岛与众不同的保护价值在于,该群岛保留了世界罕见的早期岛屿生态系统,它从未受到过来自本生态系统外的生物影响,也没有受到过人类的影响。"

Source UNESCO WH website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/577

Courtesy of Emerich from Czech
Heard Island

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