FRENCH SOUTHERN AND ANTARCTIC LANDS

FRENCH SOUTHERN AND ANTARCTIC LANDS /
TERRES AUSTRALES ET ANTARCTIQUES FRANÇAISES (TAAF).

Geological map of the Kerguelen Islands.
Second stamp in a set of 2, issued on 01.01.1988.
Face value: 15.10 French francs.
Printing: Recess.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 243.
- Scott No. 141.
- StampWorld No. 243.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 235.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 139.

The Kerguelen Islands, also known as the Desolation Islands (in French, Îles de la Désolation), are a group of islands in the Antarctic constituting a large igneous plateau mostly submerged by the southern Indian Ocean, built by eruptions that made it emerge 35 million years ago. It is one of the most isolated places on Earth, more than 3,300 km (2,100 mi) southeast of Madagascar. The main island, Grande Terre, with 300 other smaller islands and islets, forming an archipelago of 7,215 km² (2,786 sq mi). Grande Terre has an area of 6,675 km² (2,577 sq mi) and  measures 150 km (93 mi) from east to west and 120 km (75 mi) from north to south; its highest point is Mont Ross, a stratovolcano of 1,850 m (6,070 ft). France maintains on the island the scientific base of Port-aux-Français and other smaller bases and observatories, and the permanent presence of between 45 and 100 soldiers, scientists, engineers and researchers.

The islands were officially discovered by Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec on February 12, 1772. Shortly thereafter the archipelago was regularly visited by whalers and hunters of seals and elephant seals, mostly British, American and Norwegian. From 1924 to 1955, France administered these territories as part of the colony of Madagascar, but as with all Antarctic territorial claims, France's possession is kept on hold until a new international treaty defining the rights of each claimant.