Petrel Island (
French: ''Île des Pétrels'') is a rocky
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
, 900 m long and 45 m in elevation, which lies north-west of
Rostand Island and is the largest feature in the cluster of islands at the south-eastern end of
Geologie Archipelago. It was photographed from the air by
U.S. Navy Operation Highjump, 1946–47, charted by the
French Antarctic Expedition
The French Antarctic Expedition is any of several French expeditions in Antarctica.
First expedition
In 1772, Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec and the naturalist Jean Guillaume Bruguière sailed to the Antarctic region in search of the fabl ...
, 1949–51, and so named by them because numerous
snow petrel
The snow petrel (''Pagodroma nivea'') is the only member of the genus ''Pagodroma.'' It is one of only three birds that has been seen at the Geographic South Pole, along with the Antarctic petrel and the south polar skua, which have the most s ...
nests present. In January 1952, following destruction of the
Port Martin
Port Martin, or Port-Martin, is an abandoned French research base at Cape Margerie on the coast of Adélie Land, Antarctica, as well as the name of the adjacent anchorage.
History
The site was discovered in 1950 by the French Antarctic Expeditio ...
base by fire, the French Antarctic Expedition under Marret, 1952–53, enlarged the hut on Petrel Island to serve as the new base site. The island is now the site of
Dumont d'Urville Station
The Dumont d'Urville Station (french: Base antarctique Dumont-d'Urville) is a French scientific station in Antarctica on Île des Pétrels, archipelago of Pointe-Géologie in Adélie Land. It is named after explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, wh ...
.
Features
*
Mount Cervin
*
Mount Joli
Historic sites
The wooden building known as ‘Base Marret’, where seven men under Marret's command overwintered in 1952 following the fire at Port Martin, has been designated a
Historic Site or Monument (HSM 47), following a proposal by France to the
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. The iron cross on the north-east headland of the island is dedicated as a memorial to André Prudhomme, head meteorologist on the third International Geophysical Year expedition, who disappeared during a blizzard on 7 January 1959; it has similarly been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 48).
See also
*
List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
References
Islands of Adélie Land
Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica
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