Big Ben (Heard Island)

Satellite image of the southern tip of Heard Island. Cape Arkona is seen on the left side of the image, with Lied Glacier just above and Gotley Glacier just below. Big Ben Volcano and Mawson Peak are seen at the lower right side of the image.

Big Ben is the large massif to the bottom right (southeast) of this image of Heard Island, from NASA World Wind

Big Ben is a volcanic massif that dominates the geography of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. It is a composite cone with a diameter of approximately 25 kilometres. Its highest peak is Mawson Peak, which is 2,745 m above sea level. Much of it is covered by ice, including 14 major glaciers which descend from Big Ben to the sea. Big Ben is the highest mountain in Australian Territory. A smaller volcanic headland, the Laurens Peninsula, extends approximately 10 km to the northwest, created by a separate volcano, Mount Dixon; its highest point is Anzac Peak, at 715 m.

See also

• List of volcanoes in Australia

References

• LeMasurier, W. E.; Thomson, J. W. (eds.) (1990). Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Oceans. American Geophysical Union. p. 512 pp. ISBN 0-87590-172-7. 

External links

• Click here to see a map of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, including all major topographical features
• Location and history of Heard Island