New Amsterdam Île Amsterdam
Motto: Liberté, égalité, fraternité
Anthem: La Marseillaise
Orthographic projection centred over île Amsterdam

New Amsterdam, Amsterdam Island, or (Fr.) Île Amsterdam (French pronunciation: [ilamstəʁˈdam]; named after Amsterdam, the Dutch capital) is a French island in the Indian Ocean located at 37°49′33″S 77°33′17″E / 37.82583°S 77.55472°E / -37.82583; 77.55472. It is part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.

[edit] Description

The volcanic island is a potentially active volcano which last erupted in 1792. It has an area of 55 km² (21 mi²), measuring 21 km (13 mi) on its longest side, and reaches as high as 867 m (2844 ft) at the Mont de la Dives.

The island is part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Terres australes et antarctiques françaises; TAAF), and together with neighboring Île Saint-Paul (85 km to the South) forms one of the five districts of the territory. Its base, Martin-de-Viviès, formerly called La Roche Godon, is the capital of the territory.

Unlike most parts of TAAF, Île Amsterdam has a mild, oceanic climate, with a mean annual temperature of 13°C (55°F), rainfall of 1,100 mm, persistent westerly winds and high levels of humidity.[2]

Phylica arborea grove on Île Amsterdam.

Île Amsterdam is one of only three islands which are land antipodes of the continental United States. It corresponds to an area near Lamar, Colorado. The other two antipodes are île Saint-Paul and Kerguelen Island.

The only human habitation is at the Martin de Viviès base with about 30 inhabitants related to the study of fauna, weather, the atmosphere and geomagnetism.

[edit] Flora and fauna

(see Amsterdam and Saint-Paul Islands temperate grasslands)

The island has Phylica arborea trees, which are also found on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island.

[edit] Fauna

[edit] Birds

The island is home to the endemic Amsterdam albatross, which breeds only on the Plateau des Tourbières. Other rare species are the great skua, Antarctic tern and Gentoo penguin. The Amsterdam Island duck is now extinct, as are the local breeding populations of several petrels.^[1] The common waxbill has been introduced.^[2]

[edit] Mammals

There are no native land mammals. Subantarctic fur seals and southern elephant seals breed on the island. Introduced mammals include the house mouse and brown rat. Feral cats are present.^[2]

A herd of wild cattle also inhabits the island. They originate from the introduction of five animals by Heurtin after his stay on the island in 1871,^[2] and by 1988 had increased to an estimated 2000. Following recognition that the cattle were damaging the island ecosystems, a fence was built restricting them to a small area of the island.^[1]

[edit] History

This island was discovered by the Spanish explorer Juan Sebastián Elcano on March 18, 1522, along his first world circumnavigation. Elcano did not name the island, however.

Having found the island unnamed, the Dutch captain Anthonie van Diemen named it Nieuw Amsterdam (Dutch for New Amsterdam) after his ship in 1633.

Map of Île Amsterdam.

French Captain Pierre François Péron (not to be confused with François Péron) was marooned three years on this island (from 1792 to 1795). Peron's Memoires, in which he describes his survival alone on New Amsterdam, were published in a limited edition and are now an expensive collectors' item.^[3][4][5]

The islands of Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul were attached to Madagascar in 1924 and hence became a French colony.

Though, Amsterdam island, along with Saint-Paul island, is considered by some Mauritian parts as a national territory. Question of Mauritian sovereignty over these two islands has been carried out by the leader of the opposition in 2007, Paul Raymond Berenger. This new claim could be put on discussion with France, in combination with claim over Tromelin island which has been officially held for a long time^[6].

The first French base in New Amsterdam was erected in 1949, and was originally called Camp Heurtin. The Global Atmosphere Watch still has a research station on Île Amsterdam.

[edit] See also

• List of volcanoes in French Southern and Antarctic Lands
• French overseas departments and territories
• Administrative divisions of France
• Islands controlled by France in the Indian and Pacific oceans

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Pierre François Péron, Mémoires du Capitaine Péron, sur ses Voyages aux Côtes d’Afrique, en Arabie, a l’Île d’Amsterdam, aux Îles d’Anjouan et de Mayotte, aux Côtes Nord-Oeust de l’Amérique, aux Îles Sandwich, a la Chine, etc., Paris 1824
• Alfred van Cleef, The lost island. Alone among the fruitful and multiplying, Metropolitan, New York 2004 (ISBN 9780805072259)

[edit] External links

• photos of Ile Amsterdam and St.Paul (French site)
• Ile Amsterdam visit (photos from a tourist's recent visit)
• French Colonies—Saint-Paul & Amsterdam Islands, Discover France
• French Southern and Antarctic Lands at the CIA World Factbook
• South Atlantic & Subantarctic Islands site, Amsterdam Island page

v • d • e Overseas departments and territories of France   Inhabited areas Overseas departments1 French Guiana · Guadeloupe · Martinique · Réunion Overseas collectivities French Polynesia · Mayotte2 · Saint Barthélemy · Saint Martin · Saint Pierre and Miquelon · Wallis and Futuna Special status New Caledonia   Uninhabited areas Pacific Ocean Clipperton Island French Southern and Antarctic Lands Île Amsterdam · Île Saint-Paul · Crozet Islands · Kerguelen Islands · Adélie Land Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean Bassas da India3 · Europa Island3 · Glorioso Islands2, 3, 4 · Juan de Nova Island3 · Tromelin Island5 1 Also known as overseas regions.  2 Overseas department by 2011, claimed by Comoros.  3 Claimed by Madagascar.  4 Claimed by Seychelles.  5 Claimed by Mauritius.

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