F A C T S & P H O T O S O F sub-A N T A R C T I C I S L A N D S
CROZET ISLAND
The archipelagoes of Crozet is located in the extreme southern part of the Indian Ocean. The islands are located an equal distance from Africa, Antarctica, and Australia. These islands are part of the sub-Antarctic Islands system. The only people living here are with the scientific studies. The islands are claimed by France. It is one of the most remote locations on earth. These islands offer a variety of plant and animal life. Animals that live here include the white albatross, gigantic sea elephants, seals, and colonies of penguins. | 
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| These islands get 300 days of rain per year. There are always high winds blowing often reaching 80 mph. It is always cold and rainy. No trees can grow on these islands because of the high winds. Crozet has more birds living on it than any other place in the world. Nearly 25 million come to the islands to breed. The birds find food in the vast ocean reserves surrounding the islands. |
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KERGUELEN ISLAND
The archipelago of Kerguelen is made up of one large island with hundreds of smaller islands surrounding it. There are hundreds of miles of coastline were hundreds fjords and bays are formed. These islands were created by ancient volcanic activity. This is snow-capped peak named Mount Ross. It is the highest point in the Kerguelen archipelago. It was first climbed in the 1970's by French explorers. | 
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| Kerguelen Islands are also called the "islands of desolation" because the landscape is barren without trees. There is far too much wind for trees to survive. The sub-Antarctic Islands are unusual because the ecosystem is based on the resources the penguins bring onto the land from the sea. Because there is no industry or living population of humans on the islands, the land and water surrounding the area is not polluted. The water in the area is some of the purest in the world. |
These islands support some of the largest colonies of penguins in the world. Some colonies of King penguins number 800,000 breeding pairs. With millions of penguins in each colony, it is amazing that adults can find their own chick. This is done by voice recognition. The adult can find its own chick by recognizing its unique call and the chick can recognize the individual call of the parents. Penguins are part of the food chain and provide food for the killer whales and seals that live in the off shore waters. Penguins are an important part of the ecosystem of this region. | 
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