Crozet Islands
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The Crozet Islands (French Îles Crozet) are a sub-antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean, part of the French Southern Territories.
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Geography, geology, and climate
There are 6 mostly volcanic islands (not counting tiny satellite islands and rocks nearby those main islands) forming an island arc. The following table gives an overview of the islands, from West to East:
| No. | Island (English) | Area (km2) | Height (m) | Highest Peak | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Île aux Cochons (Pig Island) | 67 | 826 | Mont Richard-Foy | 46°06'S, 50°14'E |
| 2 | Brisants de l'Héroïne (Heroine Breakers) orRochers de la Meurthe (Meurthe Rocks) | 0 | 5 | 46°13'S, 50°22' E | |
| 3 | Île des Pingouins (Penguin Island) | 3 | 340 | Mont des Manchots | 46°27'S, 50°23'E |
| 4 | Îlots des Apôtres (Apostle Islets) | 2 | 289 | Mont Pierre | 45°58'S, 50°27'E |
| 5 | Île de la Possession (Possession Island) | 150 | 934 | Pic du Mascarin | 46°24'S, 51°46'E |
| 6 | Île de l'Est (East Island) | 130 | 1090 | Mont Marion-Dufresne | 46°26'S, 52°18'E |
| ÎLES CROZET (CROZET ISLANDS) | 352 | 1090 | Mont Marion-Dufresne | 45°57' to 46°29'S50°10' to 52°19'E |
The Crozet Islands are uninhabited, except for the research station Alfred Faure (Port Alfred) on the East side of Île de la Possession, which has been continuously manned since 1963. Further scientific stations have been La Grande Manchotière and La Petite Manchotière.
Subgroups
- Islands 1 through 4 are collectively known as L'Occidental (Western Group)
- Island 2 is actually a group of two major rocks 10 km South of Île aux Cochons
- Island 4 is actually a group of 14 very small isles, the largest covering a mere 1.2 km2
- Islands 5 and 6 are collectively known as L'Oriental (Eastern Group)
The Eastern and Western Groups are 94,5 km apart (from Île des Pingouins to Île de la Possession).
Analysis of magnetic anomalies on the sea floor indicates that the Crozet Plateau, of which the islands form the highest points, formed some 50 million years ago. The islands are of volcanic origin, and basalt dating to at least 8.8 million years back has been found.
The Crozet Islands are generally not glaciated. Precipitation is with over 2500 mm per year very abundant. It rains on the average on 300 days a year, and winds exceeding 100 km/h occur on 100 days. The temperatures may rise to 18°C in summer and rarely go below 5°C even in winter.
History
The Crozet Islands were first discovered by the expedition of Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, a French explorer, who landed on January 24, 1772 on Île de la Possession, claiming the archipelago for France. He named the islands after his second-in-command Jules Crozet. (He had already named Marion Island after himself...)
In the early 19th century, the islands were often visited by sealers, to the extent that the seals had been nearly exterminated by 1835. Subsequently, whaling was the main activity around the islands, especially by the whalers from Massachusetts.
Shipwrecks occurred frequently at the Crozet Islands. The British sealer Princess of Wales sank in 1821, and the survivors spent two years on the islands. In 1887, the French Tamaris was wrecked and her crew stranded on Île des Cochons. They tied a note to the leg of a Giant Petrel, which was found seven months later in Fremantle. Alas, the crew was never recovered. Because shipwrecks around the islands were so common, the Royal Navy for some time sent a ship every few years there to look for stranded survivors.
France originally administered the islands as a dependency of Madagascar, but they became part of the French Southern Territories in 1955. In 1961, a first research station was set up, but it wasn't until 1963 that the permanent station Albert Faure opened at Port Albert on Île de la Possession (both named after the first leader of the station). The station is staffed by 18 to 30 people (depending on the season) and does meteorological, biological, and geological research and maintains a seismograph.
Biology
The Crozet Islands are home to four species of penguins. Most abundant are the Macaroni Penguin, of which some 2 million pairs breed on the islands, and the King Penguin. The Eastern Rockhopper Penguin also can be found, and there is a small colony of Gentoo Penguins, too.
Other animals living on the Crozet Islands include seals, Southern Elephant Seals, petrels, and albatross, including the Wandering Albatross.
The Crozet Islands are a nature reserve since 1938. Introduction of foreign species (mice, rats, subsequently cats as a pest control) has caused severe damage to the original ecosystem. The pigs once introduced on Île des Cochon and the goats brought to Île de la Possession—both as a food resource—have been exterminated.
An on-going concern is the overfishing of the Patagonian Toothfish and the monitoring of the Albatross population. The waters of the Crozet Islands are patrolled not only by the French but also by Greenpeace.
See also
External links
- links to excellent maps of the islands (http://www.btinternet.com/~sa_sa/crozet_islands)
- Further information (http://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Kerguelen.shtml)
- Further information (http://crozetvv.free.fr/)
de:Crozetinseln fr:Îles Crozet it:Isole Crozet ja:クローゼー諸島 pl:Wyspy Crozeta