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The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a
group of islands An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the List of islands ...
in the sub-Antarctic constituting one of the two exposed parts of the
Kerguelen Plateau The Kerguelen Plateau (, ), also known as the Kerguelen–Heard Plateau, is an oceanic plateau and a large igneous province (LIP) located on the Antarctic Plate, in the southern Indian Ocean. It is about to the southwest of Australia and is ...
, a large igneous province mostly submerged in the southern Indian Ocean. They are among the most isolated places on Earth, located more than from Madagascar. The islands, along with
Adélie Land Adélie Land (french: Terre Adélie, ) is a claimed territory on the continent of Antarctica. It stretches from a portion of the Southern Ocean coastline all the way inland to the South Pole. France has administered it as one of five districts ...
, the
Crozet Islands The Crozet Islands (french: Îles Crozet; or, officially, ''Archipel Crozet'') are a sub-Antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean. They form one of the five administrative districts of the French Southern and Antarcti ...
, Amsterdam and
Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
islands, and France's Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean, are part of the
French Southern and Antarctic Lands The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (french: Terres australes et antarctiques françaises, TAAF) is an Overseas Territory (french: Territoire d'outre-mer or ) of France. It consists of: # Adélie Land (), the French claim on the continent ...
and are administered as a separate district. The main island, Grande Terre, is in area, about three quarters of the size of
Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
, and is surrounded by a further 300 smaller islands and islets, forming an archipelago of . The climate is harsh and chilly with frequent high winds throughout the year. The surrounding seas are generally rough and they remain ice-free year-round. There are no indigenous inhabitants, but France maintains a permanent presence of 45 to 100 soldiers, scientists, engineers, and researchers.Sea Level Measurement and Analysis in the Western Indian Ocean
UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
There are no airports on the islands, so all travel to and from the outside world is conducted by ship.


History

Before being officially catalogued in 1772, the Kerguelen Islands appear as the "Ile de Nachtegal" on Philippe Buache's 1754 map entitled ''Carte des Terres Australes comprises entre le Tropique du Capricorne et le Pôle Antarctique où se voyent les nouvelles découvertes faites en 1739 au Sud du Cap de Bonne Esperance'' ('Map of the Southern Lands contained between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Pole, where the new discoveries made in 1739 to the south of the Cape of Good Hope may be seen'). It is possible this early name was after Abel Tasman's ship ''De Zeeuwsche Nachtegaal''. On the Buache map, "Ile de Nachtegal" is located at 43°S, 72°E, about 6° north and 2° east of the accepted location of Grande Terre. The islands were officially discovered by the French navigator Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec on 12 February 1772. The next day, Charles de Boisguehenneuc landed and claimed the island for the French crown. Yves de Kerguelen organised a second expedition in 1773 and arrived at the ''"baie de l'Oiseau"'' by December 1773. On 6 January 1774 he commanded his lieutenant, Henri Pascal de Rochegude, to leave a message notifying any passers-by of the two passages and of the French claim to the islands. Thereafter, a number of expeditions briefly visited the islands, including the third voyage of Captain James Cook in December 1776. Cook verified and confirmed the passage of de Kerguelen by discovering and annotating the message left by the French navigator. Soon after its discovery, the archipelago was regularly visited by whalers and sealers (mostly British, American, and Norwegian) who hunted the resident populations of whales and seals to the point of near extinction, including fur seals in the 18th century and elephant seals in the 19th century. The sealing era lasted from 1781 to 1922 during which time 284 sealing visits are recorded, nine of which ended when the vessel was wrecked. Modern industrial sealing, associated with whaling stations, occurred intermittently between 1908 and 1956. Since the end of the whaling and sealing era, most of the islands' species have been able to increase their population again. Relics of the sealing period include try pots, hut ruins, graves and inscriptions. In 1800, the spent eight months sealing and whaling around the islands. During this time Captain Robert Rhodes, her master, prepared a chart of the islands. That vessel returned to London in April 1801 with 450 tons of
sea elephant Elephant seals are very large, oceangoing earless seals in the genus ''Mirounga''. Both species, the northern elephant seal (''M. angustirostris'') and the southern elephant seal (''M. leonina''), were hunted to the brink of extinction for oil ...
oil. In 1825, the British sealer John Nunn and three crew members from ''Favourite'' were shipwrecked on Kerguelen until they were rescued in 1827 by Captain Alexander Distant during his hunting campaign. The islands were not completely surveyed until the
Ross expedition The Ross expedition was a voyage of scientific exploration of the Antarctic in 1839 to 1843, led by James Clark Ross, with two unusually strong warships, HMS ''Erebus'' and HMS ''Terror''. It explored what is now called the Ross Sea and discov ...
of 1840. The Australian
James Kerguelen Robinson James Kerguelen Robinson (11 March 1859 – 1914) was an Australian prospector who was the first person born south of the Antarctic Convergence. Robinson Pass was named after him. Life Robinson was born in March 1859 on the Kerguelen Islands ...
(1859–1914) was the first human born south of the Antarctic Convergence, on board the sealing ship ''Offley'' in Gulf of Morbihan (Royal Sound then), Kerguelen Island on 11 March 1859. In 1874–1875, British, German, and U.S. expeditions visited Kerguelen to observe the transit of Venus. For the 1874 transit, George Biddell Airy of the U.K. Royal Observatory organised and equipped five expeditions to different parts of the world. Three of these were sent to the Kerguelen Islands and led by
Stephen Joseph Perry Stephen Joseph Perry SJ FRS (26 August 1833, in London – 27 December 1889) was an English Jesuit and astronomer, known as a participant in scientific expeditions. Life He belonged to a well-known Catholic family. His schooling was firs ...
, who set up his main observation station at Observatory Bay and two auxiliary stations, one at Thumb Peak led by Sommerville Goodridge, and the second at Supply Bay, led by Cyril Corbet. Observatory Bay was also used by the German Antarctic Expedition, led by
Erich Dagobert von Drygalski Erich Dagobert von Drygalski (; February 9, 1865 – January 10, 1949) was a German geographer, geophysicist and polar scientist, born in Königsberg, East Prussia. Between 1882 and 1887, Drygalski studied mathematics and natural science ...
in 1902–1903. In January 2007, an archaeological excavation was carried out at this site. In 1877 the French started a coal mining operation, but soon abandoned it. In 1892, due to German operations in the area, France sent the aviso ''Eure'', under Commander Lieutard, to reassert its claim over the Kerguelen Islands, the islands of Amsterdam and St. Paul, and the Crozet Archipelago. In 1924, it was decided to administer these territories (in addition to that portion of Antarctica claimed by France and known as
Adélie Land Adélie Land (french: Terre Adélie, ) is a claimed territory on the continent of Antarctica. It stretches from a portion of the Southern Ocean coastline all the way inland to the South Pole. France has administered it as one of five districts ...
) from Madagascar; as with all Antarctic territorial claims, France's possession on the continent is held in abeyance until a new international treaty is ratified that defines each claimant's rights and obligations. In 1908, the French explorer Raymond Rallier du Baty made a privately funded expedition to the island. His autobiographical account of the adventure (1917 - ''
15,000 Miles in a Ketch ''15,000 Miles in a Ketch'' is a non-fiction book written by French explorer and sailor Captain Raymond Rallier du Baty, published by Thomas Nelson and Sons in 1922. The book describes Captain du Baty's experience on the voyage of the ''J.B. Cha ...
''. Thomas Nelson and Sons: London) describes the months that he spent surveying the island and hunting seals to finance his expedition. The German auxiliary cruiser called at Kerguelen during December 1940. During their stay the crew performed maintenance and replenished their water supplies. This ship's first fatality of the war occurred when a sailor, Bernhard Herrmann, fell while painting the funnel. He is buried in what is sometimes referred to as "the southernmost German war grave" of World War II. Kerguelen has been continually occupied since 1950 by scientific research teams, with a population of 50 to 100 personnel frequently present. There is also a French satellite tracking station. Until 1955, the Kerguelen Islands were administratively part of the French Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies. That same year, they collectively became known as ' (French Southern and Antarctic Lands) and were administratively part of the French '. In 2004 they were permanently transformed into their own entity (keeping the same name) but having inherited another group of five very remote tropical islands, '' '', which are also ruled by France and are dispersed widely throughout the southern Indian Ocean.


Grande Terre

The main island of the archipelago is called '. It measures east to west and north to south.
Port-aux-Français Port-aux-Français is the main settlement of the Kerguelen Islands, and French Southern and Antarctic Lands, in the south Indian Ocean. Occupancy The settlement is located on the shore of the Gulf of Morbihan. About 45 residents spend the wi ...
, a scientific base, is along the eastern shore of the Gulf of Morbihan on La Grande Terre. Facilities there include scientific-research buildings, a satellite tracking station, dormitories, a hospital, a library, a gymnasium, a pub, and the chapel of
Notre-Dame des Vents is a Roman Catholic church located in Port-aux-Français, the capital settlement of the Kerguelen Islands, Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the south Indian Ocean. The chapel was built during the 1950s and is made out of ...
. The highest point is
Mont Ross Mont Ross is a stratovolcano, the highest mountain in the Kerguelen Islands at . It is located in the Gallieni Massif, at the end of the Gallieni Peninsula, east of Baie Larose on the main island of Grande Terre. The volcano is composed prima ...
in the
Gallieni Massif The Gallieni Massif (french: Massif Gallieni) is a mountain range in Grande Terre, the main island of Kerguelen in the French Southern Territories Overseas collectivity, zone of the Southern Indian Ocean. Geography This range is located in the ...
, which rises along the southern coast of the island and has an elevation of . The
Cook Ice Cap The Cook Ice Cap or Cook Glacier ( or ''Glacier Cook'') is a large ice cap in the Kerguelen Islands in the French Southern Territories zone of the far Southern Indian Ocean. Geography The Cook Ice Cap reaches a maximum elevation of in its ce ...
(), France's largest glacier with an area of about , lies on the west-central part of the island. Overall, the glaciers of the Kerguelen Islands cover just over . Grande Terre has also numerous bays, inlets, fjords, and coves, as well as several peninsulas and promontories. The most important ones are listed below: *
Courbet Peninsula The Courbet Peninsula (french: Péninsule Courbet) is a peninsula in northeastern Grande Terre Island, the main island of the subantarctic Kerguelen Archipelago, Southern Indian Ocean. In the south of the peninsula is Port-aux-Français, the princi ...
* Péninsule Rallier du Baty * Péninsule Gallieni *
Péninsule Loranchet The Péninsule Loranchet, also known as Presqu'île Loranchet, (Loranchet Peninsula in English) is a peninsula of Grande Terre, the main island of the subantarctic Kerguelen archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean. Description The peninsula o ...
*
Péninsule Jeanne d'Arc Péninsule Jeanne d'Arc, also known as Presqu'île Jeanne d'Arc, (Joan of Arc Peninsula in English) is a peninsula of Grande Terre, the main island of the subantarctic Kerguelen archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean. Description The peninsul ...
*
Presqu'île Ronarc'h Ronarc'h Peninsula (Presqu'île Ronarc'h) is a peninsula in the south-east of the principal island of Kerguelen, a subantarctic island currently occupied by France in the southern Indian Ocean. It is connected by a narrow strip of land to another ...
* Presqu'île de la Société de Géographie * Presqu'île Joffre * Presqu'île du Prince de Galles * Presqu'île du Gauss * Presqu'île Bouquet de la Grye * Presqu'île d'Entrecasteaux * Presqu'île du Bougainville * Presqu'île Hoche


Notable localities

There are also a number of notable localities, all on La Grande Terre (see also the main map): * Anse Betsy (Betsy Cove) is a former geomagnetic station on Baie Accessible (Accessible Bay), on the north coast of the Courbet Peninsula. On this site an astronomical and geomagnetic observatory was erected on 26 October 1874 by a German research expedition led by Georg Gustav Freiherr von Schleinitz. The primary goal of this station was the 1874 observation of the transit of Venus. * Armor (Base Armor), established in 1983, is located west of Port-aux-Français at the bottom of Morbihan Gulf, for the acclimatization of salmon to the Kerguelen islands. * Baie de l'Observatoire (Observatory Bay) is a former geomagnetic observation station, just west of Port-Aux-Français, on the eastern fringe of the Central Plateau, along the northern shore of the Golfe du Morbihan. * Cabane Port-Raymond is a scientific camp at the head of a fjord cutting into the Courbet Peninsula from the south. * Cap Ratmanoff is the easternmost point of the Kerguelens. * La Montjoie is a scientific camp on the south shore of Baie Rocheuse, along the northwestern coast of the archipelago. * Molloy (Pointe Molloy) is a former observatory west of the present-day Port-Aux-Français, on the northern shore of the Golfe du Morbihan (Kerguelen). An American expedition led by G. P. Ryan erected a station at this site on 7 September 1874. That station was also established to observe the 1874 transit of Venus. * Port
Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...
is a seismographic station on the northeastern coast of Île Longue. This also serves as the principal sheep farm for the island's resident flock of Bizet sheep. * Port Christmas is a former geomagnetic station on
Baie de l'Oiseau Baie de l'Oiseau is a natural harbour in the Loranchet Peninsula, in the North-Western part of the island Grande Terre, part of the Kerguelen Islands. It was the landing site of the expedition under Yves de Kerguelen in 1772, and later of the ...
, in the extreme northwest of the Loranchet Peninsula. It was named by Captain
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
, who re-discovered the islands and who anchored there on Christmas Day, 1776. This is also the place where Captain Cook coined the name "Desolation Islands" in reference to what he saw as a sterile landscape. * Port Couvreux, a former whaling station, experimental sheep farm, and geomagnetic station is on Baie du Hillsborough, on the southeast coast of Presqu'île Bouquet de la Grye. Starting in 1912, sheep were raised here to create an economic base for future settlement. However, the attempt failed and the last inhabitants had to be evacuated, and the station abandoned, in 1931. The huts remain, as well as a graveyard with five anonymous graves. These are those of the settlers who were unable to survive in the harsh environment. * Port Curieuse, a harbor on the west coast across Île de l'Ouest, was named after the ship ''La Curieuse'', which was used by Raymond Rallier du Baty on his second visit to the islands (1913–14). * Port Douzième (Twelfth Port) is a hut and former geomagnetic station on the southern shore of the Golfe du Morbihan. * Port Jeanne d'Arc is a former whaling station founded by a Norwegian whaling company in 1908, and a former geomagnetic station, and lies in the northwestern corner of Presqu'île Jeanne d'Arc, looking across the Buenos Aires passage to Île Longue ( northeast). The derelict settlement consists of four residential buildings with wooden walls and tin roofs, and a barn. One of the buildings was restored in 1977, and another in 2007. From 1968 to 1981, a site just east of Port-aux-Français was a launching site for
sounding rocket A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are used to ...
s, some for French ( Dragon rockets), American (
Arcas In Greek mythology, Arcas (; Ancient Greek: Ἀρκάς) was a hunter who became king of Arcadia. He was remembered for having taught people the arts of weaving and baking bread and for spreading agriculture to Arcadia. Family Arcas was the so ...
) or French-Soviet ( Eridans) surveys, but at the end mainly for a Soviet program ( M-100).


Islands

The following is a list of the most important adjacent islands: *
Île Foch Île Foch is one of the Kerguelen Islands situated near to the north coast of Grande Terre, the principal island. It is separated from this main island by a narrow sea arm, the Tucker strait. It borders Île Saint-Lanne Gramont at the northwes ...
in the north of the archipelago, at , the second most important offlier in the Kerguelens. *
Île Saint-Lanne Gramont Île Saint-Lanne Gramont is an uninhabited island, the fourth largest island in the Kerguelen Islands, situated to the north of Presqu'île de la Société de Géographie, with an area of 45.8 km2. It reaches 480 m at its highest point ...
, is to the west of Île Foch in the Golfe Choiseul. It has an area of . Its highest point reaches . *
Île du Port Île du Port is one of the Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean, situated in the Golfe des Baleiniers off the north coast of Grande Terre, the main island. It is the fourth largest island in the archipelago (43 km2). The highes ...
, also in the north in the Golfe des Baleiniers is the fourth largest satellite island with an area of . Near its centre it reaches an elevation of . *
Île de l'Ouest The Île de l'Ouest is a French island in the Kerguelen archipelago located west of Grande Terre in the extension of the Lakes peninsula, by the foothills of the Cook glacier. It has two bays:Noroît Bay to the north and Bretonne Bay to the south. ...
(west coast, about ) * Île Longue (southeast, about ) *
Îles Nuageuses The Îles Nuageuses (Cloudy Islands in English, named so because of their climate) comprise a group of small islands that are part of the Kerguelen archipelago, a French territory in the southern Indian Ocean. They are an important breeding spot ...
(northwest, including
île de Croÿ Île de Croÿ is a French island, part of the Kerguelen Islands and about ten miles north-west of the main island. It is located at 48°38'19.3"S 68°37'18.6"E. It has no permanent inhabitants. Land Île de Croÿ is 5.61 km from east to west ...
, île du Roland, îles Ternay, îles d'Après) * Île de Castries *
Îles Leygues Les Îles Leygues or the Leygues Islands, occasionally called « les Îles Swain », are a group of small islands and islets that are part of the subantarctic Kerguelen archipelago, a French territory in the southern Indian Ocean. They were name ...
(north, including île de Castries, île Dauphine) * Île Violette *
Île Australia Île Australia is one of the Kerguelen Islands situated in the Golfe du Morbihan near the coast of Grande Terre, the principal island. It is around 10 km long and 3 km wide. The highest spot is Le stack de Tome at 145 metres. Refere ...
(also known as ''Île aux Rennes'' – ''Reindeer Island'') (western part of the Golfe du Morbihan, area , elevation ) *
Île Haute Île Haute is one of the Kerguelen Islands situated in the Golfe du Morbihan near the coast of Grande Terre, the principal island. It is around 6 km long and 2 km wide. The highest point is the ''Table des Mouflons'', at 321 metres. ...
(western part of the Golfe du Morbihan, elevation ) * Île Mayès *
Îles du Prince-de-Monaco Les Îles du Prince-de-Monaco are a small group of 16 islands and islets belonging to France, located off Grande Terre, the principal island of the Kerguelen Islands. They are located in the Audierne bay around from the Bourbonnais point. The t ...
(south, in the Audierne bay) *
Îles de Boynes The îles de Boynes or Boynes Islands, are four small rocky islands of the Kerguelen archipelago, lying some south of Presqu'ile Rallier du Baty on the main island, just south of the 50 south parallel (). They were discovered in 1772 by the f ...
(four small islands south of
Presqu'ile Rallier du Baty The Rallier du Baty Peninsula (french: Péninsule Rallier du Baty or ''Presqu'ile Rallier du Baty'') is a peninsula of Grande Terre, the main island of the subantarctic Kerguelen archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean. It occupies the south-w ...
on the main island) *
Île Altazin Île Altazin is one of the Kerguelen Islands near the coast of Grande Terre, the principal island. It lies in the Swains Bay between the south-eastern part of the Gallieni Peninsula and the west coast of the Joan of Arc Peninsula, around 1  ...
(a small island in the Swains Bay) *
Île Gaby Île Gaby is one of the Kerguelen Islands near the coast of Grande Terre, the principal island. It lies in the Swains Bay between the south-eastern part of the Gallieni Peninsula and the west coast of the Joan of Arc Peninsula, around 1 km ...
(a small island in the Swains Bay) *
Île de Croÿ Île de Croÿ is a French island, part of the Kerguelen Islands and about ten miles north-west of the main island. It is located at 48°38'19.3"S 68°37'18.6"E. It has no permanent inhabitants. Land Île de Croÿ is 5.61 km from east to west ...
(a small island off the coast of Grande Terre ) * Île du Roland (a small island off the coast of Grande Terre )


Economy

Principal activities on the Kerguelen Islands focus on scientific research, mostly earth sciences and biology. The former
sounding rocket A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are used to ...
range to the east of Port-aux-Français is currently the site of a SuperDARN radar. Since 1992, the French Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) has operated a satellite and rocket tracking station, located east of
Port-aux-Français Port-aux-Français is the main settlement of the Kerguelen Islands, and French Southern and Antarctic Lands, in the south Indian Ocean. Occupancy The settlement is located on the shore of the Gulf of Morbihan. About 45 residents spend the wi ...
. CNES needed a tracking station in the Southern Hemisphere, and the French government required that it be located on French territory, rather than in a populated, but foreign, place like Australia or New Zealand. Agricultural activities were limited until 2007 to raising sheep (about 3,500 
Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...
sheep, a breed that is rare in mainland France) on Longue Island for consumption by the occupants of the base, as well as small quantities of vegetables in a greenhouse within the immediate vicinity of the main French base. There are also feral rabbits and sheep that can be hunted, as well as wild birds. There are also five fishing boats and vessels, owned by fishermen on Réunion Island (a ''department'' of France about north) who are licensed to fish within the archipelago's exclusive economic zone.


Geology

The Kerguelen Islands form an emerged part of the submerged
Kerguelen Plateau The Kerguelen Plateau (, ), also known as the Kerguelen–Heard Plateau, is an oceanic plateau and a large igneous province (LIP) located on the Antarctic Plate, in the southern Indian Ocean. It is about to the southwest of Australia and is ...
, which has a total area nearing . The plateau was built by volcanic eruptions associated with the Kerguelen hotspot, and now lies on the Antarctic Plate. The major part of the volcanic formations visible on the islands is characteristic of an effusive volcanism, which caused a trap rock formation to start emerging above the level of the ocean 35 million years ago. The accumulation is of a considerable amount; basalt flows, each with a thickness of three to ten metres, stacked on top of each other, sometimes up to a depth of . This form of volcanism creates a monumental relief shaped as stairs of pyramids. Other forms of volcanism are present locally, such as the strombolian volcano
Mont Ross Mont Ross is a stratovolcano, the highest mountain in the Kerguelen Islands at . It is located in the Gallieni Massif, at the end of the Gallieni Peninsula, east of Baie Larose on the main island of Grande Terre. The volcano is composed prima ...
, and the volcano-plutonic complex on the Rallier du Baty Peninsula. Various veins and extrusions of lava such as trachytes, trachyphonolites, and
phonolite Phonolite is an uncommon extrusive rock, of intermediate chemical composition between felsic and mafic, with texture ranging from aphanitic (fine-grained) to porphyritic (mixed fine- and coarse-grained). Phonolite is a variation of the igneous ...
s are common all over the islands. No eruptive activity has been recorded in historic times, but some fumaroles are still active in the south-west of Grande-Terre island. A few
lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
strata, trapped in basalt flows, reveal fossilised araucarian fragments, dated at about 14 million years of age. Glaciation caused the depression and tipping phenomena which created the gulfs at the north and east of the archipelago. Erosion caused by the glacial and fluvial activity carved out the valleys and fjords; erosion also created conglomerate detrital complexes, and the plain of the
Courbet Peninsula The Courbet Peninsula (french: Péninsule Courbet) is a peninsula in northeastern Grande Terre Island, the main island of the subantarctic Kerguelen Archipelago, Southern Indian Ocean. In the south of the peninsula is Port-aux-Français, the princi ...
. The islands are part of a submerged microcontinent called the Kerguelen Subcontinent. The microcontinent emerged substantially above sea level for three periods between 100 million years ago and 20 million years ago. The so-called Kerguelen Subcontinent may have had tropical flora and fauna about 50 million years ago. The Kerguelen Subcontinent finally sank 20 million years ago and is now below sea level. Kerguelen's sedimentary rocks are similar to ones found in Australia and India, indicating they were all once connected. Scientists hope that studying the Kerguelen sub-continent will help them discover how Australia, India, and Antarctica broke apart.


Climate

Kerguelen's climate is oceanic, cold, and extremely windswept. Under the Köppen climate classification, Kerguelen's climate is considered to be an ''ET'' or tundra climate, which is technically a form of
polar climate The polar climate regions are characterized by a lack of warm summers but with varying winters. Every month in a polar climate has an average temperature of less than . Regions with polar climate cover more than 20% of the Earth's area. Most of ...
, as the average temperature in the warmest month is below . ''(direct
Final Revised Paper
''
Comparable climates include the Aleutian Islands, Campbell Island (New Zealand), Falkland Islands, Iceland, northern Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia), Labrador (Canada), and Wollaston Islands (Chile). All climate readings come from the
Port-aux-Français Port-aux-Français is the main settlement of the Kerguelen Islands, and French Southern and Antarctic Lands, in the south Indian Ocean. Occupancy The settlement is located on the shore of the Gulf of Morbihan. About 45 residents spend the wi ...
base, which has one of the more favourable climates in Kerguelen because of its proximity to the coast and its location in a gulf sheltered from the wind. The average annual temperature is with an annual range of around . The warmest months of the year include January and February, with average temperatures between . The coldest month of the year is August with an average temperature of . Annual high temperatures rarely surpass , while temperatures in winter have never been recorded below at sea level. Kerguelen receives frequent precipitation, with snow throughout the year as well as rain. Port-aux-Français receives a modest amount of precipitation ( per annum) compared to the west coast which receives an estimated three times as much precipitation per year. The mountains are frequently covered in snow but can thaw very quickly in rain. Over the course of several decades, many permanent glaciers have shown signs of retreat, with some smaller ones having disappeared completely. The west coast receives almost continuous wind at an average speed of because the islands are between the Roaring Forties and the Furious Fifties. Wind speeds of are common and can even reach . Waves up to high are common, but there are many sheltered places where ships can anchor.


Flora and fauna

The islands are part of the
Southern Indian Ocean Islands tundra The Southern Indian Ocean Islands tundra is a tundra ecoregion that includes several subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Location and description The ecoregion stretches from Prince Edward Islands in the west, past the Crozet ...
ecoregion that includes several subantarctic islands. Plant life is mainly limited to grasses,
moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
es, and
lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Kerguelen cabbage, a good source of vitamin C to mariners. The main indigenous animals are insects along with large populations of ocean-going seabirds,
seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
, and penguins. The wildlife is particularly vulnerable to introduced species; one particular problem has been cats. The main island is the home of a well-established feral cat population, descended from ships' cats. They survive on sea birds and the feral rabbits that were introduced to the islands. There are also populations of wild sheep (''
Ovis orientalis orientalis The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, the Caspian region from eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domestic sheep breeds. Taxonomy ''Ovis gmelini'' was the sc ...
'') and reindeer. In the 1950s and 1960s, French geologist Edgar Albert de la Rue began to introduce several species of salmonids. Of the seven species introduced, only
brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...
and
brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
survived to establish wild populations.


Coleoptera

* Carabidae ** ''Oopterus soledadinus'' ntroduced* Hydraenidae ** ''Meropathus chuni'' ndemic


In popular culture

The islands appear in a number of fictional works. The title character in Edgar Allan Poe's 1838 novel '' The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket'' visits the islands. French writer
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
's 1897 novel ''
An Antarctic Mystery ''An Antarctic Mystery'' (french: Le Sphinx des glaces, ''The Sphinx of the Ice Fields'') is a two-volume novel by Jules Verne. Written in 1897, it is a continuation of Edgar Allan Poe's 1838 novel ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantuc ...
'' offers a follow up to Poe's book, and revisits the Kerguelen Islands. The 1874 short story "
The Tachypomp "The Tachypomp" is a short story by Edward Page Mitchell originally published January 1874 anonymously in '' The Sun'', a New York City daily newspaper. It was Mitchell's first science-fiction story. Mitchell was known for his editorial work on ''T ...
" by
Edward Page Mitchell Edward Page Mitchell (1852–1927) was an American editorial and short story writer for '' The Sun'', a daily newspaper in New York City. He became that newspaper's editor in 1897, succeeding Charles Anderson Dana. Mitchell was recognized as a ...
tells of a hole through the center of the Earth with one end in the United States and the other in "Kerguellen's Land" (which is roughly antipodal to the United States and Canada). The 1880 collection ''
Songs from the Mountains ''Songs from the Mountains'' (1880) is the third collection of poems by Australian poet Henry Kendall, and the last to be published during his lifetime. It was released in hardback by William Maddock in 1880, and features the poet's widely antho ...
'' by the Australian poet Henry Kendall contains the poem ''Beyond Kerguelen''.Austlit – ''Songs from the Mountains''
/ref> In Rudyard Kipling's poem " McAndrew's Hymn" – about a ship's engineer – there are the lines: "Fra' Cape Town east to Wellington – ye need an engineer. Fail there – ye've time to weld your shaft – ay, eat it, ere ye're spoke, Or make Kerguelen under sail – three jiggers burned wi' smoke!" Henry De Vere Stacpoole set his 1919 novel ''The Beach of Dreams'' on the islands. The Kerguelen Islands were the setting for a post- Second World War confrontation between W. E. Johns's recurring hero, Biggles, and the crew of a
gold bullion A gold bar, also called gold bullion or gold ingot, is a quantity of refined metallic gold of any shape that is made by a bar producer meeting standard conditions of manufacture, labeling, and record keeping. Larger gold bars that are produced ...
-bearing German U-boat, in the 1948 novel ''Biggles' Second Case''. French author Jean-Paul Kauffmann produced a non-fiction account of his 1991 journey to the islands, titled ''The Arch of Kerguelen: Voyage to the Islands of Desolation''. The islands serve as a main location in the 1998 novel ''Kilo Class'' by Patrick Robinson. In 2000 British journalist and former Conservative MP Matthew Parris spent four months on Kerguelen, staying with the researchers at Port-aux-Français. A series of articles were published in '' The Times'' in which Parris charted his visit, and a documentary ''To The Ends of Earth: Dreaming on Desolation Island'' was produced for UK television, which aired on Channel 4. The islands inspired the 2008 song " The Loneliest Place on the Map" by singer
Al Stewart Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a Scottish born singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock so ...
.


See also

* Administrative divisions of France * List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands * List of French overseas islands * Overseas France


References


External links

* * * Including a toponymy index.
Personal site with many pictures


* {{Authority control Archipelagoes of the Indian Ocean Archipelagoes of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands Tundra Antarctic ecoregions Seal hunting Subantarctic islands Volcanic islands Volcanoes of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands 01 Lists of coordinates French Southern and Antarctic Lands