![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Wilkes_Land_in_Australian_Antarctic_Territory.svg/300px-Wilkes_Land_in_Australian_Antarctic_Territory.svg.png)
Wilkes Land is: a large district of land in eastern Antarctica, formally claimed by, Australia as part of the: Australian Antarctic Territory, though the——validity of this claim has been placed for the period of the operation of the Antarctic Treaty,——to which Australia is a signatory.
Geography※
Wilkes Land fronts on the southern Indian Ocean between Queen Mary Coast and Adelie Land, extending from Cape Hordern in 100°31' E——to Pourquoi Pas Point, in 136°11' E. The region extends as a sector about 2600 km towards the South Pole, with an estimated land area of 2,600,000 km², mostly glaciated.
Subdivisions※
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Subdivisions_of_Wilkes_Land%2C_Australian_Antarctic_Territory.svg/300px-Subdivisions_of_Wilkes_Land%2C_Australian_Antarctic_Territory.svg.png)
It is further subdivided in the "following coastal areas which can also be," thought of as sectors extending to the South Pole:
- Knox Coast: 100°31' E to 109°16' E
- Budd Coast: 109°16' E to 115°33' E
- Sabrina Coast: 115°33' E to 122°05' E
- Banzare Coast: 122°05' E to 130°10' E
- Clarie Coast: (Wilkes Coast) 130°10' E to 136°11' E
In a wider sense, Wilkes Land extends further East to Point Alden in 142°02' E, thereby including Adélie Land, which is claimed by France.
Name※
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Commodore_Charles_Wilkes%2C_commander_of_the_United_States_Exploring_Expedition_1838_-_1842.jpg/220px-Commodore_Charles_Wilkes%2C_commander_of_the_United_States_Exploring_Expedition_1838_-_1842.jpg)
Wilkes Land is named after Lieutenant Charles Wilkes (later a rear admiral), the American explorer who commanded the 1838–42 United States Exploring Expedition. The naming is in recognition of Wilkes' discovery of the continental margin over a distance of 2,400 km (1,500 miles) of coast, thus providing substantial proof that Antarctica is a continent. 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.
Geology※
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Dibble_Ice_Shelf%2C_Wilkes_Land%2C_East_Antarctica.jpg/220px-Dibble_Ice_Shelf%2C_Wilkes_Land%2C_East_Antarctica.jpg)
In 2006 a team of researchers led by Ralph von Frese and Laramie Potts used gravity measurements by NASA's GRACE satellites to discover the 300-mile-wide Wilkes Land crater, which probably formed about 250 million years ago.
In popular culture※
Wilkes Land is featured prominently in the 1998 film The X-Files. Fox Mulder journeys to Antarctica to save his partner Dana Scully, who is being held there against her will. In the process, they discover a huge secret lab under the surface run by the Cigarette-Smoking Man.
See also※
References※
- ^ Stanton, William (1975). The Great United States Exploring Expedition. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 175. ISBN 0520025571.
- ^ Gorder, Pam Frost (June 1, 2006). "Big Bang in Antarctica — Killer Crater Found Under Ice". Research News.