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The Heard Island and McDonald Islands (abbreviated as HIMI) are an Australian external territory and volcanic group of barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall size is 372 km2 (143.6 sqmi) in area and it has 101.9 km (63.3 mi) of coastline. Discovered in the mid-19th century, they have been territories of Australia since 1947 and contain the only two active volcanoes in Australian territory, one of which, Mawson Peak, is the highest Australian mountain. They lie on the Kerguelen Plateau in the Indian Ocean.
The islands are among the most remote places on Earth: They are located approximately 4099 km (2547 mi) southwest of Perth, 3845 km (2389.2 mi) southwest of Cape Leeuwin, Australia, 4200 km (2609.8 mi) southeast of South Africa, 3830 km (2379.9 mi) southeast of Madagascar, 1630 km (1012.8 mi) north of Antarctica, and 450 km (279.6 mi) southeast of Kerguelen. The islands are currently uninhabited.
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