Wednesday 25 October 2017

Macquarie Island

The Macquarie Island has a very rich wildlife, including penguins and seals

Macquarie Island - Pleurophyllum Hookeri
This postcard was sent by Xue

Macquarie Island (34 km long x 5 km wide) is an oceanic island in the Southern Ocean, lying 1,500 km south-east of Tasmania and approximately halfway between Australia and the Antarctic continent. 

King penguins and Spaniel dog at Macquarie Island 
This postcard was sent by Helen

The island is the exposed crest of the undersea Macquarie Ridge, raised to its present position where the Indo-Australian tectonic plate meets the Pacific plate. It is a site of major geoconservation significance, being the only place on earth where rocks from the earth’s mantle (6 km below the ocean floor) are being actively exposed above sea-level. These unique exposures include excellent examples of pillow basalts and other extrusive rocks. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/629/

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