French Southern and Antarctic Lands Geography 2001

Location: south of Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note - French Southern and Antarctic Lands includes 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
land: 7,781 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about 500,000 sq km in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US

Area - comparative: slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,232 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM from Iles Kerguelen only
territorial sea: 12 NM

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%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)

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

NOTE: The information regarding French Southern and Antarctic Lands on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of French Southern and Antarctic Lands Geography 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about French Southern and Antarctic Lands Geography 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.