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Île Amsterdam is a sub-Antarctic island discovered by Juan Sebastián de Elcano on March 18, 1522. Sebastián did not name the island, however. Having found the island unnamed, Dutch captain Anthonie van Diemen named it after his ship in 1633. The island is volcanic, but is currently inactive. It has an area of 55 km2 (21 mi2), measuring 21 km (13 mi) on its longest side, and reaches as high as 867 m (2844 ft) at the Mont de la Dives. The island is one of few sub-Antarctic islands to have any sort of tree covering. The island is part of the French Southern Territories, and together with neighboring Île Saint-Paul (85 km to the South) forms one of the four districts of the territory. Its base Martin-de-Viviès, formerly called La Roche Gódon, is the capital of the territory. The first base was erected in 1949 in the same place, and originally called Camp Heurtin.
External links
- Ile Amsterdam visit (http://www.farvoyager.com/siov/amst1.html) - Photos from a tourist's recent visit
- Further Information (http://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/St-Paul_Amsterdam.shtml)de:Amsterdam (Insel)
es:Isla Amsterdam ja:アムステルダム島 nl:Eiland Amsterdam (Indische Oceaan)