Kerguelen Islands

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Image:Kerguelen islands.jpg Image:Orthographic projection centred over Kerguelen Island.png The Kerguelen Islands or the Kerguelen Archipelago (French: Îles Kerguelen or Archipel de Kerguelen or officially Archipel des Kerguelen or officially Archipel Kerguelen) is a group of islands in the southern Indian Ocean. The Kerguelen Islands are located at 49°15′ S 69°35′ E. The main island, Grande Terre, originally called Desolation Island, is 6,675 km2 and it is surrounded by another 300 smaller islands and islets, forming an archipelago of 7,215 km². The climate is cold, very windy and the seas are usually rough.

The most important of the satellite islands are:

The main island measures 150 km East-West and 120 km North-South. The highest peak is Mont Ross, with an elevation of 1850 m. In the West, it is covered by Cook Glacier. The island has numerous peninsulas, such as:

  • Péninsule Courbet (East)
  • Presqu'île Jeanne d'Arc (Southeast)
  • Presqu'île Ronarch (Southeast, attaced to Presqu'île Jeanne d'Arc)
  • Péninsule Rallier du Baty (Southwest)
  • Péninsule Loranchet (Northwest)
  • Presqu'île de la Société de géographie (North)
  • Presqu'île Joffre (North)

The islands are one of four districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, and were discovered by Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec in February 1772. The archipelago was exploited for its seal population until their destruction, fur seals in the 18th century and elephant seals in the early 20th century. A number of expeditions have briefly visited the islands, including that of James Cook in 1776.

During Christmas 1940, the German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis was at Kerguelen Island. During their stay they did maintenance and replenished their water supplies. The crew suffered its first fatality when a sailor fell while painting the funnel. He was buried in what is sometimes referred to as "the most southerly German soldier's grave".

Kerguelen has been used by a small number of science teams since 1949, with a population of 50-100 always present. There is also a satellite tracking station. The main island is also home to a well-established feral cat population descended from ships' cats. They survive on sea birds and non-indigenous rabbits introduced to the islands.

The main base, "capital" of the district, is located at the eastern end of the Golfe du Morbihan at 49°21′ S 70°13′ E and is known as Port-Aux-Français. Facilities include a bar, gym, hospital, library and the chapel of Notre-dame des Vents. Historic localities, all on the main island, include:

Since 1963, 49°22′ S 70°14′ E is a launch site for sounding rockets (mainly Arcas, Dragon and Eridan).

The Kerguelen Islands in fiction

In the seafaring novel Desolation Island, one of the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, the crew repair their disabled ship on an island that strongly resembles Kerguelen, although a later book in the series asserts that it is a different Desolation Island.

In The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, Edgar Allen Poe's only complete novel, the crew of the Jane Guy alights at Kerguelen Island before eventually pushing on towards the South Pole.

The archipelago also plays a role in the novel Kilo Class by Patrick Robinson ISBN 0-06-109685-7

See also

External links

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