Mont Ross is a
stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...
, the highest mountain in the
Kerguelen Islands
The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the subantarctic, sub-Antarctic region. They are among the Extremes on Earth#Remoteness, most i ...
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 primarily of
trachybasalt
Trachybasalt is a volcanic rock with a composition between trachyte and basalt. It resembles basalt but has a high content of alkali metal oxides. Minerals in trachybasalt include alkali feldspar, calcic plagioclase, olivine, clinopyroxene and l ...
and was active during the late
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
. Eruptives have been dated between 2 million years to 100,000 years old.
History
Mont Ross was named after explorer Sir
James Clark Ross
Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of both the northern and southern polar regions. In the Arctic, he participated in two expeditions led by his uncle, Sir John Ross, John ...
. The first human being to set foot on its summit was French military engineer Henri Journoud, using a helicopter, in the early 1960s. The mountain was, however, first climbed in 1975 by
Jean Afanassieff and
Patrick Cordier, and is the last French mountain to be climbed.
Photos
File:KerguelenMtRossNASA.jpg, The southern part of the Kerguelen Islands, with Mont Ross at right (white spot, top of image is north) and on the left, the Glacier Cook (white spot) and the Peninsula Rallier du Baty.
File:Mont Ross - Archipel des Kerguelen.jpg, Mont Ross in December 2013 (austral summer) shoot from the French research and supply vessel '' Marion Dufresne''
See also
*
List of Ultras of Oceania
*
List of islands by highest point
References
External links
Global Volcanism Program: Kerguelen Islands
Landforms of the Kerguelen Islands
Stratovolcanoes of France
Pleistocene stratovolcanoes
Volcanoes of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands
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