Ross Dependency is a wedge-shaped section of Antarctica that includes the Ross Sea, the Ross Ice Shelf, and McMurdo Sound. It covers about 160,000 square miles (414,400 square kilometers) of land, and about 130,000 square miles (337,000 square kilometers) of permanent ice shelf. The Ross Dependency is uninhabited except for personnel from various nations working at scientific bases. New Zealand has administered the area since 1923 and owns Scott Base, constructed on Ross Island in 1957. The United States established McMurdo Base on Ross Island in 1955.
