Saint-Paul (island)

the island Saint-Paul is a French small island located in the south of the Indian Ocean (). It forms with the island of Amsterdam, 85 km more in north (), the district of the Îles Saint-Paul and Amsterdam, one of the five districts of the southern and antarctic Lands French (the four others are the islands Crozet, the Kerguelen, the Ad3elie coast and the islands Éparses).

Geography

The Saint-Paul island has only one surface of 8 km ² for a maximum length of 5 km. Rock and desert island, it is the emerged part of an old volcano, composed of a large central crater which crumbled and where the sea penetrated by a not very major master key - from 2 to 3 m - delimited by two natural piers of rock blocks. The most point of the island, the peak of Novara, rises to 268 m with the top of the sea level. It constitutes with the island Amsterdam, the only emerged grounds of a narrow continental shelf surrounded by funds of 3000 meters.

History

The history of the two islands, Saint-Paul and Amsterdam is dependant. The Saint-Paul island as the island of Amsterdam is in the south of the road between the Cape and the islands of the Probe thus between Europe and the Indies before the opening of Suez Canal. In 1559, the geographer Evert Gysaerths indicates on a Portulan an island by 38°S with the mention " T.Q descrobio O nao S. Paulo" . One century later, a Dutch navigator Harwick Claesz de Hillegom sees the island, from which it estimates the latitude at 38°50' S. It then gives him the name of its ship, " Zeewolf". The first known unloading seems to be that made by the Dutch navigator Willen de Wlaming in 1696 then in the search of another Dutch ship. The island or its trimmings is then attended by sinners of the island Bourbon (currently island of the Réunion), American and English whalers and… of the shipwrecked men. In 1793 an English ship ordered by Lord Macartney on the way for China unloads on the island. It finds there a sailor Brest-native abandoned by an American ship. It draws up a chart of the island but confuses it with the island of Amsterdam, confusion made by other navigators before him.

The island is redécouverte with the island of Amsterdam by the Pole Adam Mieroslawski, captain of the Cygne of Granville in 1842. The Mieroslawski captain passed his diploma for the occupation of captain to the long course under the name of his brother Pierre Louis Adam Mieroslawski by using the French passport of this last.

In 1843, Adam Mieroslawski present at the governor of the island Bourbon (the Meeting), the rear-admiral Bazoche, his discovery and it proposes the taking possession of these deserted islands. In absence of warship in roads, Bazoche calls upon the three-masted ship Olympe , ordered by Martin Dupeyart. The Dupeyart captain and his boat will bring back Adam Mieroslawski on these islands. The Mieroslawski captain is elected by the governor of Bourbon, by the decree of the June 8th 1843, to assume the command of these islands at once the taking possession in the name of the France.

Meanwhile the United Kingdom disputes this taking possession. To avoid a diplomatic problem and in front of the limited interest of these islands, France sends a dispatch to the admiral Bazoche requiring the recall of the garrison. In spite of the orders, Mieroslawski persists (he will even threaten to hoist the Polish flag!) It starts to negotiate with Bazoche, his friend Adolphe Camin and other interlocutors réunionnais for an exploitation of the islands. They found a joint stock company then in 1845 for the exploitation of the 2 islands with creation of establishment on the spot. But the company is stopped in 1853, with the death of its founder and the official renouncement of its sovereignty on the island by France.

During the winter 1857, an Austrian scientific exhibition embarked on the frigate " Novara" explore the island and studies there the flora, fauna, and geology. September 23rd, 1874, of the French astronomers unload there, arrived by the ship " Fernand" . They come to observe the Venus passage in front of the sun. (A commemorative plaque which points out it always finds on the island). At the time of this mission, the geologist and geographer Charles Velain study and publish the first geological data of the 2 islands. End of the mission the January 4th, 1875. It seems that it is in Charles Velain that one owes the final name of the island. It found the chart of Gysaerths and the mention of the name " Saint-Paul".

In 1892, the French sloop " Bourdonnais" takes again possession of the island for France, possession confirmed by the passage of a second French warship, " Eure" , of return of the Kerguelen in 1893. A decree of the French government of November 21st 1924 attaches it as well as the Amsterdam island to the province of Tamatave to Madagascar, colony French at the time.

In 1928 a company of sins " The Française" Lobster; create a factory of setting out of preserves at Saint Paul. This new attempt made up of several French, especially Breton and from a hundred Madagascans will finish in disaster in 1931 with the death of tens of Breton and the majority of the Madagascans, tragedy known under the name of the " Forgotten of Saint-Paul".

In 1949, a permanent scientific base is installed on the Amsterdam island. Of this base, specific missions are carried out on the island Saint-Paul, these missions going and coming during rotations of the Marion Dufresne, ship French which serves TAAF

Volcanology

The first geological investigation of the island was carried out by Charles Vélain (1878) who formed part in 1874 of the French astronomical mission come to observe the Venus passage in front of the Sun (September 23rd, 1874 - January 4th, 1875) and was supplemented in December 1971 - January 1972 by the contribution of Jacques Nougier.

The Saint-Paul island followed in his broad outlines, a volcanolgic evolution comparable with its more septentrional neighbor, the Amsterdam island.

A paléo-volcano made up of yellow palagonitic (i.e. emitted under the sea), recut tuffs Dykes and by an intrusion of acid lava of chemical composition (Comendite) occupies the northern side of the island. It was covered entirely by a néo-volcano whose chimney of vertical food, located in the center of the Basin of the Crater is with one kilometer more in the south.

This néo-volcano with the very regular forms, emitted fluid basaltic lava which has tablecloth its sides. With its apogee, the volcano could reach 3 to 400 meters of altitude, with a circumference of crater much more reduced than the current one. In fact great collapses, according to a fault line north-western/south-eastern deprived the volcano of its north-eastern half. They were accompanied by the depression of the crater and the widening of its circumference, finally putting the sea in communication with this one.

A recurring and specific volcanicity settled in the low parts (where the pressure of the rocks opposed to the progression of the magma was less) built small scoriaceous cones corroded by marine erosion. The last volcanic activity is a crack directed according to the collapse of the island (axis NNW-SSE) marked by emissions of ashes which powdered the south-eastern external side. Fumerolles and hot sources indicate the presence, at a shallow depth, of a still hot body and a possible recovery, constantly, volcanic activity.

In the plan petrologic, the series of the lava of Saint-Paul thus is typified than that of Amsterdam. The old tuffs have a composition of tholéiites with a magmatic differentiation towards the comendites . Basalts of the néo-volcano are aluminous tholéiites enriched in their most recent olivine products.

The age of Saint-Paul, evaluated classically by the method with K/Ar and measurements of paléo-magnetism, indicates an age ranging between 500000 and 40000 years, therefore overall younger than Amsterdam. These data do not relate to obviously the most recent demonstrations of volcanicity.

Climatology

The climate is a moderate oceanic climate, marked by the absence of snow and cold but with a constant wind of west.

Human occupation

No permanent human presence on the island which is not visited that during short scientific exhibitions. Between 1850 and 1930, attempts at establishment of fisheries and canning facilities took place, primarily for the exploitation of lobsters, very abundant on these coasts. But they showed failures because of insulation, of the lack of resources and shelters. The last attempt finishing itself even in tragedy known in France, under the name of the " Forgotten of Paul" Saint; with the death of tens of colonists.

Apart from the scientific expeditions, the access on the island is from now on interdict for environmental reasons.

Fauna and flora

Surrounding water is rich in fish and lobster ( Jasus paulensis ). Each year, the governor of the TAAF publishes a decree indicating fishing zones, type and quotas of catch in the Territorial water and the exclusive economic Zone of the islands Saint-Paul and Amsterdam. In 2005,2 armaments of the Meeting had the right, in alternation and with a boat, to fish there. The vegetation is reduced to ferns, tall grasses and lichens but any tree.

One finds the usual fauna of the subantarctic islands. An important population of Otarie S ( Arctocephalus tropicalis ) attends the coasts and reproduced there. Many marine birds also come to nest with ground.

The introduction of rabbits but especially of rats, probably arrived with the first fishing vessels at 18th or the XIXe century seriously destabilized the ecosystem, reducing the nesting of birds considerably. Population of rats at the end of the years 1990 summer estimated between 50.000 and 100.000 individuals. Only a large rock, " The quille" , separated from the island by an arm of the sea was saved. Thanks to European funds, the island was entirely dératisée in 1999. Since, the population of maritime birds was gradually reconstituted.

References

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