Tuesday 19 March 2013

Kerguelen, remote but magnificent sub-antarctic islands

This time we go to the deep South, to a remote and desolate piece of land:

The Kerguelen Islands, also known as the Desolation Islands, are a subantarctic group of islands in the southern Indian Ocean, at around 49º South (Ushuaia is at 54º S). They belong to the antarctic plate, and they are of volcanic origin.



The islands are part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. This is one of the most isolated places on Earth, being more than 3300 km away from the nearest civilized location.


The main island of the archipelago is called La Grande Terre. It measures 150 km east to west and 120 km north to south. The main base, the so-called "capital" of the islands, is Port-aux-Français, located along the eastern shore of Grande Terre.

Overall, the glaciers of the Kerguelen Islands's ice cap cover just over 500 km². The islands are treeless, with scarce vegetation, but in spite of its rudeness they display some amazing landscapes.

In the extreme north, the Arche of Kerguelen, the best known feature of the islands

Vallée des Skuas

The vegetation is tundra-like lichens, mosses and the famous native speciality, Kerguelen cabbage:



The weather could even be acceptable if the permanent wild winds would not fustigate the land day and night. The winds also contribute to the cleanliness and purity of air and water.
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But let me start by the main settlement, a scientific research and meteorological station:

Port-aux-Français
Coordinates: 49°21′S, 70°13′E


Port-aux-français is the main settlement of the Kerguelen, a permanent research station found on the 1950s.

The oldest building, La Tour Météo (meteo tower)

There are no indigenous inhabitants, but France maintains a permanent presence of 50 to 100 scientists, engineers and researchers, and a military force too.


Facilities include scientific-research buildings, a satellite tracking station, dormitories, a hospital, a library, gym, a pub, and the chapel of Notre-Dame des Vents.

Logements de Marins

There are no trees in Kerguelen, though some tree fossiles seem to prove the islands were once forested. But men are stubborn, and do like trees; so the only ones to be seen in all the territory are these thuyas (a kind of cypress) by the health-clinic cabin:


They should be tall trees, but are "decapitated" by the unstoppable winds, so they grow up only to the top of the buildings that protect them.

There is no airport on the islands - just a heliport - , so all travel and transport from the outside world is conducted by ship.

'L'aventure', the boat that usually transports people from port to port and between islands.

'Biomar' Lab and Mount Ross at sunset, by the Morbihan Gulf's waters, near the port.

Port Jeanne d'Arc


Port Jeanne d'Arc is a former whaling station founded by a Norwegian whaling company in 1908.


The derelict settlement consists of four residential buildings with wooden walls and tin roofs, and a barn. Some of it has been restored and is presently in use. It's the second main settlement, and it keeps some historic testimonies of the whale-hunting era.

There is also a fishing station at Lac d'Armor, established in 1983, 40 km west of Port-aux-Français, for the acclimatization of salmon, as the waters here are among the purest in the planet. And several cabins through the islands at strategic locations, for shelter or meteorological research.

HISTORY

The islands were discovered by the French navigator Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen on 1772.

Until the XXth century, the archipelago was regularly visited by whalers and sealers (mostly British, American and Norwegian) who hunted the resident populations of whales and seals. They introduced populations of rabbits, sheep and reindeer.

Kerguelen has been continually occupied since 1950 by scientific research teams, with a population of 50 to 100 frequently present.

Some special sites:

The Gallieni peninsula, on the south of Grande Terre

This is the most picturesque and amazing area. The highest point, Mount Ross, has an elevation of 1850 meters.


'It's a crazy mountain, like a castle of some fantastic comics, with frost-covered towers'.


Grande Terre has numerous bays, inlets, fjords, and coves, as well as several peninsulas and promontories.

Baie Larose and its peculiar Doigt de Sainte Anne (St. Ann's Finger), on the east side of Gallieni peninsula:


Doigt de Sainte Anne is a volcanic outcrop on the eastern shore of the Gallieni peninsula.


Mounts Simoun and Diane:


Vallée des sables:


L'Arche des Kerguelen



Arche des Kerguelen is an old natural arch that has parcially collapsed.


It's located on the north extreme of Loranchet peninsula, northeast of Grande Terre, close to a sheltered bay called Port-Christmas. This was so named by Captain James Cook, who re-discovered the islands and who anchored there on Christmas Day, 1776.



This is also the place where Captain Cook coined the name "Desolation Islands" in reference to what he saw as a sterile landscape.



The Cook Ice Cap and its glaciars

Still in the northern area, there are lakes, glaciars and cascades around the small Cook Ice Cap:

Lake Bontemps

Pyramide Branca (White pyramid)

Glaciar Agassiz

Glaciar Ampère

Castor and Pollux cascade

Cats and Reindeer 
In an isolate South Indian island ?! Yes...


Cats were introduced in 1950 to stop mouse proliferation. Some survived and became wild. The problem is that they also feed on birds and endanger some colonies.

A cat among penguins

The cat population is now being studied, to understand how they resisted harsh and very cold environment, quite contrary to their natural habitat. They feed mainly on rabbits (also introduced, a plague to the cabbages) and birds.


Reindeer were introduced by the Norwegians. Today the reindeer of the Kerguelen islands number around 4000 individuals.


They have been able to survive due to their ability to extract sufficient nutrients from the islands' supply of lichens and mosses; they form the only such population in the southern hemisphere.

Finally, sheep, bighorn sheep, also brought by man to Île Longue (Long Island), a small island in Morbihan gulf covered with (planted) grass. They provide good meat to Port-aux-Français crewmen, so they take good care of them !

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But, of course, the penguin population reigns on these latitudes !


26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very, very beautiful. I hope I can visit the meadows and other scenic spots on Kerguelen one day.

It is a pity there isn't a larger settlement. With care it seems like Kerguelen could sustain a few score non-scientist residents.

Unknown said...

France had a colony there at one time, but the people were removed. This island group shows many artifacts of the ancient civilization which was destroyed about 9600BC.

Alex said...

What is your proof that there was an ancient civilization there?

Bart said...

Hello again. "Orographic cloud over Mount Ross" - nope, this pics shows orographic cloud over Mount Fuji in Japan.

Mário R. Gonçalves said...

Thank you so much, Bart K., I will remove the wrong photo. Probably, I got it from a wrong source.

Unknown said...

Currently reading 1772: The French Annexation of New Holland The Tale of Louis de Saint Alouarn by Godard & de Kerros. Kerguelen Islands are described with detail and to see photgraphs of the actual places is amazing. Thank you.

Mário R. Gonçalves said...

Glad you enjoyed, David.

avidébela said...

Hello Mário,
You said that this island is of voulcanic origin. But, seems that is partial voulcanic, and also continental in the east(Courbet Peninsule). Someone call the "Lost 6th continent". Almost tottaly submerged, but in the placs theory it flows from the actual Birmania to this far south indian ocean.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerguelen_Plateau

http://antarctic-plate-tectonics.weebly.com/kerguelen-plateau.html
http://basementgeographer.com/kerguelen-plateau-a-sunken-microcontinent/

Gostei muito do Blog!!
Parabéns!
Fernando

LaMare said...

Yes Tom, where did you derive your information? Sounds fascinating.

garbanzo said...

LaMare,
The Kerguelen archipelago is one of the remaining mountaintops of ancient Atlantis/Lemuria/Hyperborea, just as Hawaii, Franz Josef Land and many others are.
The artifacts on these islands are easily found using Google Earth. I have a large library of them.

Unknown said...

It appears, from the woodcut in the TAAF stamp shown in the article, that the Arche des Kerguelen still existed intact in historic times. So I looked up what happened to it. Some time between 1908 and 1913 the arch portion collapsed. There are a couple of old photos that show it "before". Presumably no one saw it fall.

Darn! Missed it.

I would like to visit Kerguelen someday, but it won't happen. I did spend about a week exploring Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic a few years ago, though. That was pretty amazing.

Thanks for the post and the pictures. Fun to go, even if only vicariously.

Virgil Alexandru Iordache said...

Very interesting article. I enjoyed the photos.

Unknown said...

Land bird fauna there is absent... Naturally. Why instead of introduction of land birds from Eurasian and American tiundra people have introduced rodents, cats and rabbits?
I think, it is need to create land bird fauna. It can limite cat predation on seabird chicks. Kerguelen island is great place for bird introduction, because only birds there are seabirds and ducks. It means, that introduction of non-native grouses and passerines wouldn't harm native biodiversity. I think, it is need to introduce there following birds: common and Arctic redpolls, snow bunting, dark-eyed junco, white-crowned sparrow, red-throated pipit, Northern wheatear, lapland longspur, rock and willow ptarmigan, redwing, fieldfare and greycheeked thrushes.

Mário R. Gonçalves said...

There is an excellent book by french journalist Jean-Paul Kauffmann, "L'arche des Kerguelen", where I collected much of the information for the article. I recommend it, but I'm not sure there is an english translation.

Unknown said...

My family live here before the Scientists came here for Research,My parents live happily near the Port aux Francais , but they all passed away.Our language was Celisiaamemalia.To me now only bad souvenir.

Unknown said...

@Mário Gonçalves I am pretty sure there is only a French version of M. Kauffmann's book, and it is out of print. I was able to order a used copy of the original French (haven't received it yet; coming from France). Thanks for your comment.

@Hoanh Nguyen Do you still (or did you formerly) live at Port Aux Francais? What language is Celisiaamemalia? I have never heard of it, and apparently neither has Google.

James Hufferd said...

I own and have read a copy of Kaufman's book, translated to English several years ago. In fact, there are two editions, with different titles - The Arch of Kerguelen and The Thin Edge of the World. Also, there is a wonderful book, also translated, and a few years older, by another Frenchman, Andre Migot, entitled in English The _____ South, also including the author's excursion to Australian Antarctica. (I can't think of the middle word!) Highly recommended.

James Hufferd

Ken Roy said...

Thanks for this site.

Anonymous said...

Reindeer are also on South Georgia in the Southern Hemisphere. I have been to both places! Beautiful photos bring back great memories. Wes - W3WL

Unknown said...

The reindeer on South Georgia have been culled, save some few numbers which have been brought over to the Falkland Islands to be bred for commercial purposes.

Rainer John

Andreas said...

This looks to be a fascinating place. Thanks for sharing this.

Unknown said...

Wiuld love to go. Fascinating history. Walking, trekking to the glaciers, taking photos. Is there any chance for a non-researcher to go? Eco friendly of course.

Jane Farmer said...

An excellent article. Thankyou.
I would love to visit one day.
Jane.

Unknown said...

This is odd as my Grandmothers marriage certificate says she was born here in 1860. I know she came to NZ on a whaling ship as a 12 year old own by a Spanish skipper called Manuel Silva, she was pacific origin from where we dont know? But at that time Black Birding was rife in the Pacific so possibly her mother was taken and gave birth on the boat. My Grandmother has a pacific surname name Botoluv as well as another surname ToBouch could this be possibly the fathers surname and he was a crew member on the boat? As far as I can find only one other person is recorded to have been born on Kergulen Islands

Julia-Sophie said...

Absolutly fascinating . Our planet is so breathtakingly beautiful.

Mário R. Gonçalves said...

Agree, Julia-Sophie. And anywhere - Chilean Patagonia, Faroe Islands, The Caucasus Svanetia, Ellesmere Island, Lake Baikal ... fascination has no end.