Petrel Island () is a rocky island, 900 m long and 45 m in elevation, which lies north-west of
Rostand Island
Rostand Island is a rocky island 400 m long and 200 m south-east of Petrel Island in the Géologie Archipelago of Antarctica. It was charted in 1951 by the French Antarctic Expedition and named by them for Jean Rostand, noted French b ...
and is the largest feature in the cluster of islands at the south-eastern end of
Géologie Archipelago
The Géologie Archipelago, also known as the Pointe Géologie Archipelago, Geology Archipelago or Cape Geology Archipelago, is a small archipelago of rocky islands and rocks close to the north of Cape Géodésie and Astrolabe Glacier Tongue, ext ...
. It was photographed from the air by U.S. Navy
Operation Highjump
Operation HIGHJUMP, officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946–1947, (also called Task Force 68), was a United States Navy (USN) operation to establish the Antarctic research base Little America (exploration b ...
, 1946–47, charted by the
French Antarctic Expedition
The French Antarctic Expedition is any of several French expeditions in Antarctica.
1837–1840
In 1837, during an 1837–1840 expedition across the deep southern hemisphere, Captain Jules Dumont d'Urville sailed his ship ''Astrolabe'' alo ...
, 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 have been seen at the Geographic South Pole, along with the Antarctic petrel and the south polar skua, which has 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 Fifth French Antarctic Ex ...
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 () is a French scientific station in Antarctica on Île des Pétrels, Géologie Archipelago, archipelago of Pointe-Géologie in Adélie Land. It is named after exploration, explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, whose expe ...
.
Features
*
Mount Cervin
Mount Cervin () is a small rocky hill, high, on the east side of Petrel Island in the Géologie Archipelago. It was charted in 1951 by the French Antarctic Expedition and named by them for the Matterhorn
The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mounta ...
*
Mount Joli
Mount Joli () is a small rocky mass with three summits, the highest to , on the northeast side of Petrel Island in the Géologie Archipelago. It was charted in 1951 by the French Antarctic Expedition and named by them for a summit of the Alps in t ...
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
This is a list of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands.
* Antarctic islands are, in the strict sense, the islands around mainland Antarctica, situated on the Antarctic Plate, and south of the Antarctic Convergence. According to the terms of the A ...
References
Islands of Adélie Land
Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica
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