Île de Croÿ is an island under French jurisdiction. It is part of an archipelago known as the

Kerguelen Islands The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the subantarctic, sub-Antarctic region. They are among the Extremes on Earth#Remoteness, most i ...

, situated approximately 10 miles (16 kilometres) north-west of the main island. It is located at 48°38'19.3"S 68°37'18.6"E and currently has no permanent population.

History

Île de Croÿ was discovered in 1776 by Captain

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

as part of his renowned nautical expedition through the southern hemisphere. It is the largest of five islands in a small group Cook named the 'Cloudy Isles', now known as Iles Nuageuses.

Geography and Geology

Île de Croÿ, at its highest peak, rises 1,699 feet (518 meters) above sea level. The island stretches 3.49 miles (5.61 kilometers) long between its furthermost points, and covers an area of approximately 6.2 square miles (16 square kilometres).The majority of the archipelago is the result of volcanic activity, as indicated by its high concentration of

flood basalt A flood basalt (or plateau basalt) is the result of a giant volcanic eruption or series of eruptions that covers large stretches of land or the ocean floor with basalt lava. Many flood basalts have been attributed to the onset of a hotspot (geolo ...

and trachytic ignimbrite. The composition and burial depth of the ignimbrite indicates that the last major volcanic eruption in the area occurred between 23,000 and 29,000 years ago, near the end of the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

Climate

The temperature in Île de Croÿ is usually very cold, with a temperature averaging 9 degrees

celsius The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

in its summer months, and an extremely varying but generally below freezing in winter months. It is classified as a

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

environment due to its low temperature and significant precipitation.

Plants and animals

Living on the island are penguins, albatrosses, and seals. No introduced species are present.

References

{{coord, type:isle, display=title Uninhabited islands of the Kerguelen Islands