The first time I read the Kerguelen name was in the book The Sphinx of the Ice Fields, by Jules Verne. Time later I found it again in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym by Edgar Allan Poe (the stories are related).
In both stories the distance, the isolation, and the events that take place make these islands to look remote (in fact they are) and give them an aura of mystery and exoticism. So they are ideal to launch the blog :-).
The Kerguelen Islands lie in the Indian Ocean, about 5000 km. southeast of Cape Town and about 2000 km. north of the coast of Antarctica.
The islands belong to France and are part of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories (TAAF). They have no native population, but a staff of 50 to 100 scientists live there conducting various types of research.
The archipelago consists of a main island called Grande Terre of 6675 km², and over 300 small islands, islets and reefs that are arranged around Grande Terre, which gives the islands a total area of 7215 km².
Grande Terre has countless bays and fjords, and there is located Mount Ross, a dormant volcano, 1850 meters high and the highest point of the archipelago. Until 1975 it was the last missing French mountain to be climbed.
Cook Glacier, about 400 km² in area is the largest glacier in France (12,000 km. far from mainland France), and also on the main island.
The islands are named after Joseph de Kerguelen of Trémarec, the explorer who discovered them in 1772. In Breton (Celtic language spoken in the French region of Brittany), Kerguelen means "sacred farm".
Years later, in 1776, Captain Cook re-discovered the islands and inspired by the landscape, named them with the evocative name of Desolation Island.s
They have a sub-Antarctic climate perhumid, cloudy, rainy and windy, with precipitation (rain or snow) for about 300 days a year. The maximum temperature in summer reaches 10° C and minimum in winter can go to -20° C.
The landscape is volcanic, with no trees or shrubs in sight. The vegetation is mainly composed by mosses and lichens, but the Kerguelen cabbage is also there. This vegetable is rich in potassium and vitamin C, and was highly appreciated by the ancient seafaring crew to combat scurvy. Even its scientific name highlights that feature: Pringlea antiscorbutica (Pringlea is a tribute to Sir John Pringle, president of the Royal Society at the time of discovery). This cabbage was discovered on the visit made to the islands by James Cook in 1776.
Animal life is not very abundant. Insects, seabirds, seals and penguins are native fauna, which are added to about 3500 semi-wild sheep used to feed the residents, reindeer, rabbits, mice and feral cats (introduced to combat mice, but then also became plague).
The islands serve as a basis for various scientific activities.
They were used in 1874 to study the transit of Venus, an astronomical phenomenon that occurs once every 243 years. At that time, the UK Royal Observatory sent three expeditions to Kerguelen.
Since 1950 has been constantly inhabited by researchers.
Between 1968 and 1981 there was a sound rocket launch site used by French, Americans and Russians. Currently there is a SuperDARN radar network facility at the location formerly used as rocket platform. It is used to study the upper atmosphere and ionosphere.
Since 1992, the French space agency CNES, operates a satellite and roclets tracking station.
In Kerguelen is the grave of a German sailor who died in a fall while performing maintenance on the war cruiser Atlantis in 1940. It is considered as "the most southern German grave" of the Second World War.
There is no airport in Kerguelen, the only way to visit the islands is by sea.
Since 1994, it is possible to travel as a tourist in the Marion Dufresne II, a ship that sails from Reunion (French island east of Madagascar), with the mission of resupplying the various French bases of the TAAF and transporting replacement personnel to these bases.
The journey of 9000 km. takes about 28 days and the places available in the ship are limited. It visits the island bases in Crozet, Kerguelen and Amsterdam Island. If a scientist need to go to St. Paul then the ship also goes to that island, although the tourists are not allowed to land there because it is a natural protected area.
Usually landing on the islands are done by helicopter, and if weather doesn’t allow, uzodiacs are used (imagine the interesting experience of saiing in a zodiacl when the weather is so bad for helicopter flights).
If anyone is interested, please note that the trip costs about 7500 euros in a shared cabin, which doubles if you prefer a private cabin.
sources:
In both stories the distance, the isolation, and the events that take place make these islands to look remote (in fact they are) and give them an aura of mystery and exoticism. So they are ideal to launch the blog :-).
The Kerguelen Islands lie in the Indian Ocean, about 5000 km. southeast of Cape Town and about 2000 km. north of the coast of Antarctica.
The islands belong to France and are part of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories (TAAF). They have no native population, but a staff of 50 to 100 scientists live there conducting various types of research.
The archipelago consists of a main island called Grande Terre of 6675 km², and over 300 small islands, islets and reefs that are arranged around Grande Terre, which gives the islands a total area of 7215 km².
Grande Terre has countless bays and fjords, and there is located Mount Ross, a dormant volcano, 1850 meters high and the highest point of the archipelago. Until 1975 it was the last missing French mountain to be climbed.
Cook Glacier, about 400 km² in area is the largest glacier in France (12,000 km. far from mainland France), and also on the main island.
The islands are named after Joseph de Kerguelen of Trémarec, the explorer who discovered them in 1772. In Breton (Celtic language spoken in the French region of Brittany), Kerguelen means "sacred farm".
Years later, in 1776, Captain Cook re-discovered the islands and inspired by the landscape, named them with the evocative name of Desolation Island.s
They have a sub-Antarctic climate perhumid, cloudy, rainy and windy, with precipitation (rain or snow) for about 300 days a year. The maximum temperature in summer reaches 10° C and minimum in winter can go to -20° C.
The landscape is volcanic, with no trees or shrubs in sight. The vegetation is mainly composed by mosses and lichens, but the Kerguelen cabbage is also there. This vegetable is rich in potassium and vitamin C, and was highly appreciated by the ancient seafaring crew to combat scurvy. Even its scientific name highlights that feature: Pringlea antiscorbutica (Pringlea is a tribute to Sir John Pringle, president of the Royal Society at the time of discovery). This cabbage was discovered on the visit made to the islands by James Cook in 1776.
Animal life is not very abundant. Insects, seabirds, seals and penguins are native fauna, which are added to about 3500 semi-wild sheep used to feed the residents, reindeer, rabbits, mice and feral cats (introduced to combat mice, but then also became plague).
The islands serve as a basis for various scientific activities.
They were used in 1874 to study the transit of Venus, an astronomical phenomenon that occurs once every 243 years. At that time, the UK Royal Observatory sent three expeditions to Kerguelen.
Since 1950 has been constantly inhabited by researchers.
Between 1968 and 1981 there was a sound rocket launch site used by French, Americans and Russians. Currently there is a SuperDARN radar network facility at the location formerly used as rocket platform. It is used to study the upper atmosphere and ionosphere.
Since 1992, the French space agency CNES, operates a satellite and roclets tracking station.
In Kerguelen is the grave of a German sailor who died in a fall while performing maintenance on the war cruiser Atlantis in 1940. It is considered as "the most southern German grave" of the Second World War.
There is no airport in Kerguelen, the only way to visit the islands is by sea.
Since 1994, it is possible to travel as a tourist in the Marion Dufresne II, a ship that sails from Reunion (French island east of Madagascar), with the mission of resupplying the various French bases of the TAAF and transporting replacement personnel to these bases.
The journey of 9000 km. takes about 28 days and the places available in the ship are limited. It visits the island bases in Crozet, Kerguelen and Amsterdam Island. If a scientist need to go to St. Paul then the ship also goes to that island, although the tourists are not allowed to land there because it is a natural protected area.
Usually landing on the islands are done by helicopter, and if weather doesn’t allow, uzodiacs are used (imagine the interesting experience of saiing in a zodiacl when the weather is so bad for helicopter flights).
If anyone is interested, please note that the trip costs about 7500 euros in a shared cabin, which doubles if you prefer a private cabin.
sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerguelen_Islands
- http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Kerguelen_Islands
- http://sesquiotic.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/kerguelen/
- http://www.taaf.fr/spip/
- http://www.outre-mer.gouv.fr/?-terres-australes-et-antarctiques-francaises-.html
- http://www.kerguelen-island.org/
- http://www.astronautix.com/sites/keruelen.htm
- http://www.btinternet.com/ ~ sa_sa / Kerguelen / kerguelen_islands.html
- http://www.edouard.com/travel/southern-seas96.html
- http://www.kerguelen.de/KerguelenFramesENG/FramesetKerguelenENG.htm
- http://wikitravel.org/en/Kerguelen
- http://www.oceandots.com/southern/kerguelen/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Ross
- http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090807091435.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperDARN
- http://ile.kerguelen.free.fr/pjdamin.htm
- http://www.liberation.fr/terre/1101659-les-manchots-de-la-republique
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario