Pic du Mascarin, Mountain summit in Crozet Islands, France

Pic du Mascarin is a 934-meter peak on Île de la Possession in the Crozet Islands. The summit dominates the landscape of this remote archipelago located in the southern Indian Ocean.

French explorers Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne and his second-in-command Julien Crozet reached the Crozet Islands on 24 January 1772 aboard the Mascarin, the ship that gave the peak its name. The 934-metre summit on Île de la Possession rises above Lac Perdu and the Plateau de l'Au-delà.

The peak takes its name from the Mascarin, the ship on which Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne and his second-in-command Julien Crozet reached the Crozet Islands on 24 January 1772. The name is thus a direct trace of that first French exploration of the archipelago.

The mountain is located in one of the most remote regions in the world and is not accessible to regular visitors. Extreme conditions and the isolated location make a standard visit impossible.

The mountain sits in a completely unpopulated landscape and experiences extreme weather year-round at its southern latitude. This harsh environment makes it valuable for scientific study of isolated ecosystems.