Kerguelen Islands

The Kerguelen Islands lie as an archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean and consist of Grande Terre along with several hundred smaller islands and rocks around it. The main island shows deep fjords that cut sharply into the land, and the coastline stretches over a very long total distance.

The French navigator Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec reached these islands in the year 1772 and claimed them for the French crown. Later, whalers and seal hunters used the waters around the islands before scientific research started in the 20th century.

The research station takes its name Port-aux-Français and serves as the only permanent settlement on the islands, where scientists work in rotating teams. In the laboratory buildings and residential blocks, researchers study mostly the biology of the seas and the geological processes of the region.

The journey takes place only by ship, as there is no runway, and the crossing lasts several days from the nearest larger island. Visitors must apply for a special permit, as the region is strictly controlled and only a few people receive access each year.

The Cook Glacier covers large parts of the main island and reaches almost to sea level in some places. Mount Ross rises as an extinct volcano and is the highest point of the entire archipelago.