in, and European synthetics

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002

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French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Introduction

French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Background: The Southern Lands consist of two archipelagos, Iles Crozet
and Iles Kerguelen, and two volcanic islands, Ile Amsterdam and Ile
Saint-Paul. They contain no permanent inhabitants and are visited only by
researchers studying the native fauna. The Antarctic portion consists of
"Adelie Land," a thin slice of the Antarctic continent discovered and
claimed by the French in 1840.

Geography French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Location: south of Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about
equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note - French
Southern and Antarctic Lands include Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul,
Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along with
the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Adelie Land"; the US does not
recognize the French claim to "Adelie Land"

Geographic coordinates: 43 00 S, 67 00 E

Map references: Antarctic Region

Area: total: 7,781 sq km note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul,
Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about
500,000
0 sq km land:
Area - comparative: slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,232 km

Maritime claims: 200 NM from Iles Kerguelen only territorial sea:
Climate: antarctic

Terrain: volcanic

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point:
Mont Ross on Iles Kerguelen 1,850 m

Natural resources: fish, crayfish

Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes

Environment - current issues: NA

Geography - note: islands component is widely scattered across remote
locations in the southern Indian Ocean

People French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Population: no indigenous inhabitants (July 2002 est.) note: in 1997,
there were about 100 researchers whose numbers vary from winter (July)
to summer (January)

Population growth rate: NA

Government French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Country name: conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern
and Antarctic Lands conventional short form: Frenc