Ross Dependency

All the Antarctic islands and territories between 160° east and 150° west longitude, and situated south of 60° south latitude; it includes Edward VII Land, the Ross Sea and its islands (including the Balleny Isles), and parts of Victoria Land. It is claimed by New Zealand; area 450,000 sq km/173,745 sq mi.

The region includes the Ross Ice Shelf (or Ross Barrier), a permanent layer of ice across the Ross Sea about 425 m/1,394 ft thick. The Ross Sea has long been a leading area of the whaling industry. The Dependency is populated by scientific personnel only.

The Ross Dependency was claimed by the UK in 1923, with the claim subsequently transferred to New Zealand. It is probable that marine organisms beneath the ice shelf had been undisturbed from the Pleistocene period until drillings were made in 1976.