1. History

2. Amateur radio

3. Environment
    Geography  Climate  Flora and fauna  Vegetation  Birds  Mammals 

4. See also

5. References

6. Further reading

7. External links

Île Amsterdam ({{IPA-fr|ilamstɛʁdam}}), also known as Amsterdam Island, New Amsterdam, or Nouvelle Amsterdam, is an island of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the southern Indian Ocean that together with neighbouring Île Saint-Paul {{convert|85|km|mi|abbr=on}} to the south forms one of the five districts of the territory. The research station at Martin-de-Viviès, first called Camp Heurtin and then La Roche Godon, is the only settlement on the island and is the seasonal home to about thirty researchers and staff studying biology, meteorology, and geomagnetics.

The island is roughly equidistant to the land masses of Madagascar, Australia, and Antarctica – as well as the British Indian Ocean Territory and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (about {{convert|3200|km|mi|disp=comma}} from each).

Heard Island is about 1730 km south.

The island is named after the ship {{ship||Nieuw Amsterdam|sailing ship|2}}, which is in turn named after the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam (named after the Dutch capital Amsterdam) that later became New York City in the United States.

History

The island was discovered by the Spanish explorer Juan Sebastián de Elcano on 18 March 1522 during his circumnavigation of the Earth. However, he did not name the island. Having found the island unnamed, Dutch captain Anthonie van Diemen named it Nieuw Amsterdam after his ship on 17 June 1633.^[1] The first recorded landing was made in December 1696 by Dutchman Willem de Vlamingh.^[2]

French Captain Pierre François Péron claims he was marooned from 1792 to 1795 on the island. Peron's Memoires, in which he describes his experiences, were published in a limited edition, now an expensive collectors' item.^[3][4][5] There was confusion in the early days between Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands.{{cn|date=October 2018}}

The first sealers landed in 1789.^[6] Between that date and 1876, 47 sealing vessels are recorded at the island, 9 of which were wrecked. Relics of the sealing era can still be found.^[7]

The island was a stop on the Macartney Mission during its voyage to China in 1793. ^[8]

On 11 October 1833 the British barque Lady Munro was wrecked at the island. Of the 97 persons aboard, 21 survivors were picked up two weeks later by a United States sealing schooner, General Jackson.^[9]

The islands of Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul were first claimed by Martin Dupeyrat for France in 1843. However, the governor of Réunion refused to ratify the act of possession and France took formal control only in October 1892.^[1]

In January 1871 an attempt to settle the island was made by a party led by Heurtin, a French resident of Réunion. After seven months, their attempts to raise cattle and grow crops were fruitless, and they returned to Réunion, abandoning the cattle on the island.^[10]

In May 1880 {{HMS|Raleigh|1873|6}} circumnavigated the island searching for a missing ship the Knowsley Hall. A cutter and gig were despatched to the island to search for signs of habitation. There was a flagpole on Hoskin Point and {{convert|50–70|yards}} north were two huts, one of which had an intact roof and contained three bunks, empty casks, an iron pot and the eggshells and feathers of sea-birds. There was also an upturned serviceable boat in the other hut, believed to belong to the fishermen who visited the island.^[11]

The islands were attached to the French colony of Madagascar from 21 November 1924 until 6 August 1955 when the French Southern and Antarctic Lands was formed. (Madagascar gained independence in 1958.)

The first French base on Amsterdam was established in 1949, and was originally called Camp Heurtin.

The Global Atmosphere Watch still maintains a presence on Amsterdam.

Amateur radio

From 1987–98, there were frequent amateur radio operations from Amsterdam Island. There was a resident radio amateur operator in the 1950s, using callsign FB8ZZ.^[12]

In January 2014 Clublog listed Amsterdam and St Paul Islands as the seventh most-wanted DXCC entity.^[13] On 25 January 2014 a DX-pedition landed on Amsterdam Island using MV Braveheart and began amateur radio operations from two separate locations using callsign FT5ZM. The DX-pedition remained active until 12 February and achieved over 170,000 two-way contacts with amateur radio stations worldwide.

Environment

Geography

The volcanic island is a potentially active volcano which last erupted in 1792. It has an area of {{convert|55|km²|mi2|abbr=on}}, measuring about {{convert|10|km|mi|abbr=on}} on its longest side, and reaches as high as {{convert|867|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} at the Mont de la Dives. The high central area of the island, at an elevation of over {{convert|500|m|ft}}, containing its peaks and caldera, is known as the Plateau des Tourbières (Plateau of Bogs). The cliffs that characterise the western coastline of the island, rising to over {{convert|700|m|ft}}, are known as the Falaises d'Entrecasteaux after the 18th-century French navigator Bruni d'Entrecasteaux.^[14]

Climate

Île Amsterdam has a mild, oceanic climate under the Köppen climate classification, with a mean annual temperature of {{convert|14|°C|°F|1}}, rainfall of {{convert|1100|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}, persistent westerly winds and high levels of humidity.^[15] Under the Trewartha climate classification the island is well inside the maritime subtropical zone due to its very low diurnal temperature variation keeping means high.

Flora and fauna

Vegetation

Phylica arborea trees occur on Amsterdam, which is the only place where they form a low forest, although the trees are also found on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island. It was called the Grand Bois ("Great Forest"), which covered the lowlands of the island until forest fires set by sealers cleared much of it in 1825. Only eight fragments remain.

Some sailors from HMS Raleigh landed on the island on 27 May 1880. They described the vegetation as^[11]

Rough ground, grass several feet high, myrtle {{convert|10–15|feet}} high in sheltered ravines, sedge, ferns (principally polypodium) and cabbages, grown into bushes with stumps several inches thick in the garden ....

Birds

The island is home to the endemic Amsterdam albatross, which breeds only on the Plateau des Tourbières. Other rare species are the brown skua, Antarctic tern and western rockhopper penguin. The Amsterdam duck is now extinct, as are the local breeding populations of several petrels. There was once possibly a species of rail inhabiting the island, as a specimen was taken in the 1790s (which has been lost), but this was either extinct by 1800 or was a straggler of an extant species.^[21] The common waxbill has been introduced.^[19] Both the Plateau des Tourbières and Falaises d'Entrcasteaux have been identified as Important Bird Areas by BirdLife International, the latter for its large breeding colony of Indian yellow-nosed albatrosses.^[14]

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.^[19]

A distinct breed of wild cattle, Amsterdam Island cattle, also inhabited the island from 1871 to 2010. They originated from the introduction of five animals by Heurtin during his brief attempt at settlement of the island in 1871,^[19] and by 1988 had increased to an estimated 2,000. Following recognition that the cattle were damaging the island ecosystems, a fence was built restricting them to the northern part of the island.^[20] In 2007 it was decided to eradicate the population of cattle entirely, resulting in the slaughter of the cattle between 2008 and 2010.^[21]

See also

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

References

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
• {{cite book| last = Cleef| first = Alfred van| title = The Lost Island| year = 2004| publisher = Macmillan| isbn = 978-0-8050-7225-9 }}

External links

• Ile Amsterdam visit (photos from a tourist's recent visit)
• French Colonies—Saint-Paul & Amsterdam Islands, Discover France
• [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fs.html French Southern and Antarctic Lands] at the CIA World Factbook
• {{cite web|url=http://www.btinternet.com/~sa_sa/amsterdam/amsterdam.html |title=South Atlantic & Subantarctic Islands site, Amsterdam Island page |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5mr1oTefT?url=http://www.btinternet.com/~sa_sa/amsterdam/amsterdam.html |archivedate=2010-01-17 |deadurl=yes |df= }}

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