This part of Antarctica is deeply indented. Toward the pole it resembles the rest of Greater Antarctica: a high, ice-covered plateau. And away from the indent, the usual pattern prevails: the land rises toward the coast--in the Framnes Mountains, for example; beyond the land is an ice shelf, and beyond that is sea ice, varying in degree of packing and in extent with the seasons.
Mackenzie Bay, including Amery Ice Shelf, constitutes the indent, but the lower land continues as Lambert Glacier, bounded west by the Prince Charles Mountains, and east by the Mawson Escarpment. Gillock Island is embedded in the Amery Ice Shelf.
Heard and McDonald Islands are the southernmost islands on the Kerguelen Ridge. The largest of the ridge's islands is Grande Terre
The only permanent mainland research base is Mawson, administered by Australia. About a 130 people live on the Kerguelen Archipelago, presumably mostly speaking French and mostly being Roman Catholic Christians, and these outnumber the mainlanders. The Heard and McDonald Islands are uninhabited.
No-one visited Greater Antarctica before the late 19th century. People visited the Kerguelen Archipelago starting in the 18th century. People visited the Heard and McDonald Islands starting in the 19th century.