Mawson Peak | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Elevation | 2,745 m (9,006 ft)[1] |
Prominence | 2,745 m (9,006 ft) |
Listing | Country high point |
Coordinates | 53°6′00″S 73°31′00″E / 53.10000°S 73.51667°E |
Geography | |
Location | Heard Island, Australia |
Parent range | Big Ben |
Topo map | RAN Heard Island 291 |
Geology | |
Mountain type | Volcanic cone |
Last eruption | 2012 to 2018 [2] |
Mawson Peak is an active volcanic summit of the Big Ben massif on Heard Island, an external Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.
With an elevation of 2,745 metres (9,006 ft), it is the third highest peak in any state, territory or claimed territory of Australia,[3] higher than the 2,228-metre (7,310 ft) Mount Kosciuszko, and surpassed only by the 3,490-metre (11,450 ft) Mount McClintock and the 3,355-metre (11,007 ft) Mount Menzies in the Australian Antarctic Territory.[4] The Australian Antarctic Territory is a territorial claim unrecognised by most other countries,[5] meaning that Mawson Peak is the highest mountain over which Australia has true sovereignty. The peak erupts fairly frequently,[6] and as recently as May 2023.[7] Mawson Peak is ranked the 30th of Earth's most topographically isolated summits.