Marie Byrd Land | |
|---|---|
Region | |
 Area map of Marie Byrd Land | |
| Etymology: Wife of explorer Richard E. Byrd | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 80°S 120°W / 80°S 120°W | |
| Continent | Antarctica |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,610,000 km2 (620,000 sq mi) |
Marie Byrd Land (MBL) is an unclaimed region of Antarctica. With an area of 1,610,000 km2 (620,000 sq mi), it is the largest unclaimed territory on Earth. It was named after the wife of American naval officer Richard E. Byrd, who explored the region in the early 20th century.[1]
The territory lies in West Antarctica, east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and south of the Pacific Ocean portion of the Antarctic or Southern Ocean, extending eastward approximately to a line between the head of the Ross Ice Shelf and Eights Coast. It stretches between 158°W and 103°24'W. The inclusion of the area between the Rockefeller Plateau and Eights Coast is based upon Byrd's exploration.