What is Marie Byrd Land?
[[File:Antarctica.jpg|thumb|400px|Map of Antarctica; Marie Byrd Land is the unclaimed section in the bottom-left between the New Zealand and Chilean claims.]] '''Marie Byrd Land''' is a part of [[Antarctica]]. It is between the Unclaimed [[Ross Ice Shelf]] and the [[Ross Sea]] to the west and the [[Pacific Ocean]] to the north. It goes towards the east to a line between the head of the [[Ross Ice Shelf]] and [[Eights Coast]]. It stretches between [[158th meridian west|158°W]] and 103°24'W. The area between the [[Rockefeller Plateau]] and [[Eights Coast]] is included. This is because Rear Admiral [[Richard E. Byrd]] had an important role in its exploration. Admiral Byrd named the [[territory]] in 1929. It was in honour of his wife. He applied the name to the territory that was explored in that year.<ref name=gnis>{{cite gnis|type=antarid|id=9395|name=Marie Byrd Land|accessdate=2004-11-03}}</ref> The area is very [[wikt:remote|remote]], even for Antarctica. Because of this, most of it (the east part of [[150th meridian west|150°W]]) has not been claimed by any country. The territory is not a nation itself. Because of this, it is the largest single [[unclaimed territory]] on Earth. Together with [[Eights Coast]], immediately to the east of Marie Byrd Land, it has an area of 1,610,000&nbsp;km². In 1939, US President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] told members of an Antarctic expedition to claim some Antarctic territory. Members of this expedition and later ones seemed to do so, but no official claims were made before 1959, when the [[Antarctic Treaty System]] was set up. Some [[map]]s in the [[United States]] have shown this as US territory. The Defense Department of the US Government has also said that there was a solid basis for a claim for the territory. This was because of the activities there before 1959.<ref>[http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/pdd26.htm Presidential Decision Directive NSC-26]</ref> The portion west of 150°W is part of [[Ross Dependency]]. There are five areas, which are listed from west to east: {