Îlots des Apôtres
| Îlots des Apôtres | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Waters | Indian Ocean |
| archipelago | Crozet Islands |
| Geographical location | 45 ° 57 ′ S , 50 ° 26 ′ E |
 |
|
| Number of islands | 2 (+16 rocks) |
| Main island | Grande Île |
| Total land area | 2.01 km² |
| Residents | uninhabited |
 |
|
The Îlots des Apôtres ( German "Apostle Islands" ) are the northernmost and smallest group of islands in the Crozet Islands archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean . Politically, they belong to the French overseas territory "Terres australes et antarctiques françaises" .
geography
The Îlots des Apôtres are located in the western group of the archipelago, about 15 km northeast of the Île aux Cochons , from which they are separated by the Chenal du Nord . The uninhabited archipelago of volcanic origin has a land area of only about 2 km² and consists of two small islands, Grande Île and Petite Île , as well as numerous small and very small rocky islands . Despite their small area, the cliffs jutting out from the ocean reach heights of 15 to 228 meters above sea level, the two islands even 246 meters on the Petite Île and in Mont Pierre 292 m on the Grande Île.
The individual islands and rocks are arranged from north to south:
| Island / rocks | Area ( ha ) |
|---|---|
| Rocher North | 6.0 |
| L'Enclume | 1.5 |
| Grande Île | 150.0 |
| Le clown | 0.4 |
| La Sentinelle perdue | 0.2 |
| Les Jumeaux | 0.5 |
| Rocher Fendu | 3.0 |
| Petite Île | 30.0 |
| Les Sentinelles du Diable | 1.0 |
| La Grande Aiguille | 1.0 |
| La Petite Aiguille | 0.2 |
| Le hangar | 1.5 |
| Le Donjon | 2.5 |
| Rocher Sud | 1.5 |
| Le Torpilleur | 0.1 |
| Le Caillou | 0.4 |
| L'Obélisque | 0.3 |
| Rocher Percé | 1.0 |
| Îlots des Apôtres | 201.1 (= 2.01 km²) |
history
The islands were discovered by Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne in January 1772 . On the night of July 1 to July 2, 1875, the British ship Strathmore had an accident on the way to New Zealand near the Îlots des Apôtres. 40 people were killed, 49 were able to save themselves on the Grande Île. They endured miserable conditions until they were rescued on January 21, 1876 by the whaling ship Young Phoenix . By then, however, 5 other people had died of frostbite and tetanus.
Bird sanctuary
The islands have been classified as a bird sanctuary by BirdLife International as around 25 species of seabirds, mainly various albatrosses , petrels and terns breed here. By decree of October 3, 2006, the islands, along with other parts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, were placed under absolute nature protection. People are only allowed to enter the area in exceptional cases and with the approval of the administrateur supérieur des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Le naufrage du Strathmore (1875). In: Les Îles Crozet: voyage au pays des manchots et des Albatros. Retrieved May 14, 2017 (French).
- ↑ Important Bird Areas factsheet: Îles des Apôtres. In: BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International , accessed May 14, 2017 .
- ↑ Décret n ° 2006-1211 from 3 October 2006 portant creation de la reserve naturelle des Terres australes françaises . In: Journal officiel de la République française . October 4, 2006, Chapitre IV: Zones de protection intégrale (French, online at legifrance.gouv.fr , accessed on May 14, 2017).