Macquarie Island is an Australian possession in the Southern Ocean. It lies about 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) southeast of the Australian state of Tasmania, about halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica. The island is about 21 miles (34 kilometers) long and 3 miles (5 kilometers) wide. It is governed as part of Tasmania.
Macquarie Island is of great interest to scientists. The island is the top of a ridge that formed when rock deep beneath the ocean floor was pushed up between two of the huge, slowly-moving tectonic plates that make up Earth’s rocky outer shell (see Plate tectonics). Part of the rock fractured and tilted as it rose. Scientists on Macquarie Island can study layers of rock that came from the top of the crust all the way down to the upper mantle. The mantle is the layer of rock between Earth’s crust and core. These rocks can usually only be found miles beneath the planet’s surface. Macquarie Island gives scientists an opportunity to study these rocks without having to drill deep into Earth’s crust. Unlike most other islands in the region, Macquarie Island was not shaped by the slow movement of glaciers. Instead, it was shaped mainly by the movement of waves as the rocks were thrust upward from the ocean floor.
Macquarie Island’s animal life is also of interest to researchers. Many kinds of birds, including albatrosses, cormorants, penguins, and terns, nest on the island. In September, elephant seals swim to Macquarie Island to give birth to their young. Fur seals can also be found on the island.
Australian seal hunters discovered the island in 1810. They named it in honor of Lachlan Macquarie, who was governor of the British colony of New South Wales in Australia. Macquarie Island became a popular destination for seal hunters, who nearly eliminated the island’s seal population by the mid-1830’s.
Efforts to preserve the island began in 1933, when it was proclaimed a wildlife sanctuary. In 1948, the Australian government established a permanent scientific research station on the island. In 1956, scientists announced that fur seals had returned to the island after more than 100 years. Today, Macquarie Island, some of its coastal waters, and several nearby islets (small islands) are part of the Macquarie Island Nature Reserve. Other coastal waters are protected as part of the Macquarie Island Marine Park, which covers about 184,000 square miles (475,465 square kilometers). The Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service manages both the reserve and the park.
In 1997, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added Macquarie Island to the World Heritage List, a registry of sites that have great cultural or natural value.
