| The map above is in Macromedia Flash format. You can zoom in on the map by right clicking on it when viewing the Flash image, or it will be seen as a PNG image. The map is courtesy of Jean-Pierre Langer of Monaco: Jean-Pierre has spent a considerable amount of time translating Admiralty and other charts into Adobe .PDF format, and I am indebted to him for his assistance. |
Les Îles Crozet (occupying an area of the Indian Ocean between 45°95' and 46°50'S, 50°33' and 52°58'E) are a large archipelago marking the only places where the Crozet Plateau reaches sea level. The Plateau itself trends WNW to ESE between 40°E-53°E and 47°S-52°S; and is approximately 1,200 km x 600 km in size. The archipelago is divided into two main groups, L'Occidental (or western comprising Île aux Cochons, Îlots des Apotres, Île des Pingouins and the reefs Brisants de l'Heroine) and L' Oriental (or eastern, comprising Île de l'Est and Île de la Possession, the largest of the Crozets), about 100 km east.
The relative sizes of the islands are:
- Île de la Possession 150 sq. km, 934 m high
- Île de l'Est 130 sq. km 1,090 m high
- Île des Pingouins 3 sq. km 340 m high
- Île aux Cochons 67 sq. km 826 m high
- Îlots des Apôtres 2 sq. km 289 m high
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| TAAF Stamp depicting l'Île aux Cochons |
The islands are located far from inhabited land, and have no airport, port or regular transport. The Crozets cover 325 sq km, and are one of the four parts of the Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises, which include Terre Adelie (Antarctica), Kerguelen and the islands of Amsterdam St-Paul. Since 1938 the Crozets have been a National Park, with protection for the abundant wildlife and unique flora and fauna.
The highest point on the Crozets, at 1,090m, is Pic Marion-Dufresne on Île de l'Est. Although glaciated in the past, there are now no glaciers. Lying as they do in the path of the "Roaring Forties", the islands are invariably windy, and the frequent depressions arriving from the west bring cold, wet and cloudy weather. On average it rains 300 days per year, and winds exceed 100 Km/Hr on 100 days of the year. The temperature rarely exceeds 18° C in summer, though it rarely falls below 5° C in winter. You can find historic weather data (1965 to date) here.
