ÃŽle des Pingouins

The Isle of Pingouins ( German "Penguin Island" ) is the fourth largest and most remote island in the archipelago of the Crozet Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. She belongs to the French overseas territory " Terres et australes antarctiques françaises ".

Geography

The Isle of Pingouins located in the western group of the archipelago, about 30 km south of the Ile aux Cochons, from which it is separated by the Chenal du Sud. From the Ile de la Possession, the largest island of the archipelago, it is about 110 km away. The island is about 4 km long, up to 2 km wide, and in this case has an area of ​​about 4 sq. km. They reached the Mont des Manchots a height of 340 meters above the sea. Upstream of the island are the small rocky islands Rocher de l' Arche in the North West and Ile Riou in the south.

History

The island was discovered on January 24, 1772 by Marc -Joseph Marion du Fresne and baptized originally Ile Inaccessible (German inaccessible island). Because of the numerous there occurring penguins, the island got its current name later. The island was visited in the past by whaling and sealing vessels, it is today but uninhabited.