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Kerguelen Islands
*** Shopping-Tip: Kerguelen Islands
Image:Kerguelen_islands.jpg thumb|310px|Kerguelen Islands
Image:Orthographic projection centred over Kerguelen Island.png thumb|310px|Orthographic projection centred over Kerguelen Islands
Image:Port_aux_Fran%C3%A7ais.JPG thumb|310px|Port Aux Français
Image:Kerguelen CookGlacier.JPG thumb|310px|Cook Glacier
The '''Kerguelen Islands''' or the '''Kerguelen Archipelago''' (
French language French: ''ÃŽles 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 {{coor dm.html">island, '''Grande Terre''', originally called '''Desolation Island''', is
_6,675 km2.html">1 E9 m²| 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:
* ÃŽles Nuageuses (Northwest)
* ÃŽle de Castries {{coor dm|48|41|S|69|29|E|}}
* ÃŽle Leygues (North)
* ÃŽle Howe (North) {{coor dm|48|50|S|69|25|E|}}
* ÃŽle Saint-Lanne Gramont (North, area 45.8 km², {{coor dm|48|55|S|69|12|E|}})
* ÃŽle Foch (North, area 206.2 km², altitude 687 m)
* ÃŽle du Port (North, in the Golfe des Baliniers, area 43.0 km², altitude 340 m)
* ÃŽle Violette {{coor dm|49|07|S|69|40|E|}}
* ÃŽle de l'Ouest (West)
* ÃŽle aux Rennes (Southeast, area 36.7 km², altitude 199 m, {{coor dm|49|32|S|69|54|E|}})
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, attached 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 {{coor dm|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:
* Anse Betsy (historic geomagnetic station at {{coor dm|49|10|S|70|13|E|}})
* Baie de l'Observatoire (historic geomagnetic station at {{coor dm|49|21|S|70|12|E|}})
* Cabane Port-Raymond (scientific camp at {{coor dm|49|20|S|69|49|E|}})
* Cap Ratmanoff (geomagnetic station at {{coor dm|49|14|S|70|34|E|}}, the easternmost point)
* La Montjoie (scientific camp at {{coor dm|48|59|S|68|50|E|}})
* Port Bizet (seismographic station at {{coor dm|49|31|12|S|69|54|36|E|}})
* Port Christmas (historic geomagnetic station at {{coor dm|48|41|S|69|03|E|}})
* Port Couvreux (former whaling station and geomagnetic station at {{coor dm|49|17|S|69|42|E|}})
* Port Curieuse (harbor on the West coast at {{coor dm|49|22|S|68|48|E|}})
* Port Douzième (literally ''Twelfth Port'', hut and geomagnetic station at {{coor dm|49|31|S|70|09|E|}})
* Port Jeanne d'Arc (former whaling station and historic geomagnetic station at {{coor dm|49|33|S|69|49|E|}})
Since 1963, {{coor dm|49|22|S|70|14|E|}} is a launch site for
sounding rockets (mainly
Arcas,
Dragon (rocket) Dragon and
Eridan).
The Kerguelen Islands in fiction
* In the seafaring novel ''
Desolation Island (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 Allan 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 plays a role in the novel ''
Kilo Class'' by
Patrick Robinson ISBN 0-06-109685-7
*
Warbots (no. 5) ''Operation High Dragon'' involves a secret Chinese military base located on Kerguelen Island. ISBN 1558171592
* In the danish graphic novel ''
Mikkeline på skattejagt'' (Mikkeline's treasure hunt) by draftsman and cartoonist
Claus Deleuran, Desolation Island plays a major role in the plot. In the humorous story the active volcano Mont Ross serves as a back entrance to hell as described in ''
The Divine Comedy'' by
Dante Alighieri. ISBN 87-7378-244-0
See also
*
French overseas departments and territories
*
Administrative divisions of France
*
Islands controlled by France in the Indian and Pacific oceans
*
Sub-antarctic islands
External links
{{Commons|Kerguelen Islands}}
-
Official site
-
Official site
-
Kerguelen Archipelago
-
Southern & Antarctic Territories
-
Columns about Kerguelen from ''
The Times''
-
Personal site with a lot of pictures
-
Desolation Island - History and Geography
-
Rocket launches on the Kerguelen Islands
-
Geomagnetic Stations
Category:Ridge volcanoes
Category:Volcanoes of the Indian Ocean
Category:Volcanoes of the Southern Ocean
Category:Volcanoes of France
Category:Sub-antarctic islands
Category:French Southern Territories
Category:Archipelagoes
bg:Кергелен
de:Kerguelen
es:Kerguelen
fi:Kerguelen
fr:Kerguelen (îles)
it:Isole Kerguelen
nl:Kerguelen
ja:ケルゲレン諸島
pl:Wyspy Kerguelena
sk:Kergueleny
sl:OtoÄ?je Kerguelen
sv:Kerguelen
*** Shopping-Tip: Kerguelen Islands
