Plan to make Macquarie Island a marine zone
Recently in Australia, the government is planning to make an area in the Southern Ocean a marine zone.
Declaring this area a marine zone will help protect the millions of penguin and seal populations around Macquarie Island.
Importance of Macquarie Island
- Macquarie Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an oceanic island in the Southern Ocean, 1,500 km southeast of Tasmania, Australia.
- It is actually situated between the continent of Australia and Antarctica.
- The island is actually an underwater crest of the Macquarie Ridge overlooking the sea.
- It is uplifted in the ocean where the Indo-Australian tectonic plate meets the Pacific plate.
- It is a major site of geo-conservation importance, as it is the only place on Earth where rocks from the Earth’s mantle (up to 6 km below sea level) are actively exposed above sea level.
- These unique exposures include outstanding examples of pillow basalt and other extrusive rocks.
Source – Down to Earth
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