Wilkes Land is a large district of land in easternAntarctica, formally claimed byAustralia as part of theAustralian Antarctic Territory, though this claim has been held in abeyance for the period of the operation of theAntarctic Treaty, to which Australia is a signatory.
Wilkes Land fronts on the southernIndian Ocean betweenQueen Mary Coast andAdelie Land, extending fromCape Hordern in 100°31' E toPourquoi Pas Point, in 136°11' E. The region extends as asector about 2600 km towards theSouth Pole, with an estimated land area of 2,600,000 km², mostly glaciated.
It is further subdivided in the following coastal areas which can also be thought of as sectors extending to the South Pole:
In a wider sense, Wilkes Land extends further East toPoint Alden in 142°02' E, thereby includingAdélie Land, which is claimed by France.
Wilkes Land is named after LieutenantCharles Wilkes (later arear admiral), the American explorer who commanded the 1838–42United States Exploring Expedition. The naming is in recognition of Wilkes' discovery of thecontinental margin over a distance of 2,400 km (1,500 miles) of coast, thus providing substantial proof thatAntarctica is acontinent.[1] This definition of extent excludes the area east of 142°02' E,George V Land, which was sighted by Wilkes but has been shown by later expeditions to be further south than the positions originally assigned by him.
In 2006, a team of researchers led byRalph von Frese andLaramie Potts used gravity measurements by NASA'sGRACE satellites to discover the 300-mile-wideWilkes Land crater, which probably formed about 250 million years ago.[2]
Wilkes Land is featured prominently in the 1998 filmThe X-Files.Fox Mulder journeys toAntarctica to save his partnerDana Scully, who is being held there against her will. In the process, they discover a huge secret lab under the surface run by theCigarette-Smoking Man.
| Claims |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Former claims |
| |
| Unclaimed | ||
| Unrecognized and proposed claims |
| |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
