Westarctica: /* Discovery and name */ added link to Wilkes article

2019-08-03T16:54:55Z

Discovery and name: added link to Wilkes article

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	==Discovery and name==		==Discovery and name==
	[[File:Commodore Charles Wilkes.jpg\|thumb\|Portrait of Charles Wilkes by Thomas Sully]]		[[File:Commodore Charles Wilkes.jpg\|thumb\|Portrait of Charles Wilkes by Thomas Sully]]
	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.		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.

	==In popular culture==		==In popular culture==

Westarctica: Source of article predominately from Wikipedia article on Wilkes Land

2018-05-02T22:15:23Z

Source of article predominately from Wikipedia article on Wilkes Land

New page

[[File:Antarctica-Lands.jpg|thumb|Map of Antarctica - Wilkes Land is on the far right of the continent]]
'''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. It fronts on the southern Indian Ocean between Queen Mary Coast and [[Adélie 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. It is further subdivided in the following coastal areas which can also be thought of as sectors extending to the South Pole:

Knox Land: 100°31' E to 109°16' E
Budd Land: 109°16' E to 115°33' E
Sabrina Land: 115°33' E to 122°05' E
Banzare Land: 122°05' E to 130°10' E
Clarie Land: (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.

==Discovery and name==
[[File:Commodore Charles Wilkes.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Charles Wilkes by Thomas Sully]]
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.

==In popular culture==
Wilkes Land is featured prominently in the 1998 film ''The X-Files: Fight the Future''. 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 that is possibly also an alien spacecraft.

[[Category:Geography of Antarctica]]
[[Category:Antarctica]]

Wilkes Land - Revision history

Westarctica: /* Discovery and name */ added link to Wilkes article

Westarctica: Source of article predominately from Wikipedia article on Wilkes Land