Australian Antarctic Territory

Australian Antarctic Territory is an area of Antarctica administered by the Australian Antarctic Division. It consists of all the islands and territory south of 60°S and between 45°E and 160°E, except for Adélie Land (136°E to 142°E).

It is bounded by Queen Maud Land in the West and by Ross Dependency in the East.

The Australian Antarctic Division administers the area primarily by maintaining three year-round stations, Mawson, Davis, and Casey.

The territory's history dates to a claim on Enderby Land made by the United Kingdom in 1841, which was subsequently expanded and eventually transferred to Australia in 1933. It is the largest territory of Antarctica claimed by any nation by area. In 1961, the Antarctic Treaty, though it does not renounce or diminish any preexisting claims to sovereignty, does not prejudice the position of Contracting Parties in their recognition or non-recognition of territorial sovereignty; as a result, only four other countries, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, and Norway, recognize Australia's claim to sovereignty in Antarctica.