| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,727,802,924 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
Kerguelen |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.07 sec. |
|
Kerguelen (kûr`gəlĕn, Fr. kĕrgālĕn`), subantarctic island of volcanic origin, 1,318 sq mi (3,414 sq km), in the S Indian Ocean, c.3,300 mi (5,310 km) SE of the southern tip of Africa; largest of the 300 Kerguelen Islands (total area c.2,700 sq mi/7,000 sq km), part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands French Southern and Antarctic Lands, overseas territory of France, including Adélie Land, which covers c.200,000 sq mi (520,000 sq km) in Antarctica , and a number of islands in the S Indian Ocean. The largest of these is Kerguelen (1,318 sq mi/3,414 sq km). ..... Click the link for more information. . Kerguelen Island rises in the south to Mt. Rose (6,120 ft/1,865 m), and Cook Glacier covers its western third. Glacial lakes, peat marshes, lignite, and guano deposits are found on the island; it also has seals, rabbits, wild hogs, and wild dogs. The island, famous for the native Kerguelen cabbage, is used mainly as a research station and a seal-hunting and whaling base. Kerguelen was discovered in 1772 by the French navigator Yves Joseph de Kerguélen-Trémarec, who named it Desolation Island. It has belonged to France since 1893. Kerguelen an archipelago in the S Indian Ocean: consists of one large volcanic island (Kerguelen or Desolation Island) and 300 small islands; part of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in classic literature | |
|---|---|---|
We were then, for reasons which it is not worth while to specify, in the close neighbourhood of Kerguelen Land; and now, when I open an atlas and look at the tiny dots on the map of the Southern Ocean, I see as if engraved upon the paper the enraged physiognomy of that gale. I will only say that as far as regards the occurrence of identical species at points so enormously remote as Kerguelen Land, New Zealand, and Fuegia, I believe that towards the close of the Glacial period, icebergs, as suggested by Lyell, have been largely concerned in their dispersal. Captain Cook, in his second voyage, says, that this plant at Kerguelen Land rises from a greater depth than twenty-four fathoms; "and as it does not grow in a perpendicular direction, but makes a very acute angle with the bottom, and much of it afterwards spreads many fathoms on the surface of the sea, I am well warranted to say that some of it grows to the length of sixty fathoms and upwards. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|