The Île Ronde (literally ''Round Island'') is a French islet to the south west of Pointe de l’Armorique, in the

roadstead of Brest The roadstead of Brest (''rade de Brest'') is a roadstead or bay located in the Finistère Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. The surface area is about 180 km² (70 sq ...

, within the territory of the commune of

Plougastel-Daoulas Plougastel-Daoulas (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department, located in the administrative region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Ploug ...

. Its highest point is 24 m. Facing Île Ronde, on the pointe de l’Armorique, is the

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

de la pointe de l’Armorique, built in 1775 for the defense of

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

''Ducs D'Albe''

In the sea, to the east of Île Ronde, are two

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

s, concrete cubes built by the German occupiers during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

at a place where the water is 16 m deep. They were intended to host the German battleship '' Bismarck'', but she was sunk in May 1941 before she could reach Brest and never used them. It seems these caissons were not intensively used. The proximity of the channel separating Île Ronde from the pointe de l’Armorique gives rise to severe sea currents, making docking manoeuvres at this point difficult. Today unused, these concrete cubes have become inaccessible for humans and thus have become a haven for flora and fauna, including nests for

common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory ...

s."Les Ducs d'Albe"
''Plongépave''.

Notes and references

Fortifications of Brest, France Ronde Landforms of Finistère {{Finistère-geo-stub