_#_Legal system: relevant laws of the Northern Territory of Australia
_#_Note: administered by the Australian Minister for Arts, Sports, the Environment, Tourism, and Territories Roslyn KELLY
_#_Diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)
_*Economy #_Overview: no economic activity
_*Communications #_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
_*Defense Forces #Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force % @Atlantic Ocean *Geography #_Total area: 82,217,000 km2; includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than nine times the size of the US; second-largest of the world's four oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than Indian Ocean or Arctic Ocean)
_#_Coastline: 111,866 km
_#_Climate: tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent from August to November
_#_Terrain: surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the north Atlantic, counterclockwise warm water gyre in the south Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin; maximum depth is 8,605 meters in the Puerto Rico Trench