Between 60 ° ~ 75 ° east longitude and 45 ° ~ 60 ° south latitude, there are two lonely islands called Kerguelen Island and Heard Island, these two islands are far from the mainland and far from other countries in the world, and few people pay attention to this place.
Location map of Kerguelen Island and Heard Island
Kerguelen Island is an overseas possession of France, Heard Island belongs to Australia, and further south is Antarctica, opposite Queen Mary in Antarctica, where there is Cape Darnley, Australia's Davis Antarctic Research Station, and the mainland's Zhongshan Station is also nearby.
Kerguelen Island and Heard Island are both in the southern hemisphere, where the seasons are the opposite of those in the northern hemisphere, and it is now autumn and winter, almost the coldest time of the year.
Heard Island
The latitude of the two islands is equivalent to Mohe in the mainland Heilongjiang province, but because it is far from land, the closest is Antarctica, so the climate there is colder and harsher than Mohe. In terms of longitude, Kerguelen and Heard Island are about the same as the Pamir Plateau at the westernmost point of the mainland, with a time difference of about three hours.
Île Kerguelen (France)
With an area of 6,675 square kilometers, Kerguelen Island is much larger than Heard Island and about the size of Shanghai on the mainland. Such an island is a volcanic island formed by volcanic eruptions, and the island is windy 365 days a year, and it is cold most of the time, and the hottest temperature does not exceed 15 degrees.
In such climatic conditions, no one wants to live in Kerguelen for long, there are only a hundred scientific and technical personnel on the island, who rotate regularly. These people had to eat and drink on the island of Kerguelen by supply ships, and the living conditions were extremely difficult. They live in Port Francis on the island of Kerguelen, where there are 50 slab houses, which is the house on the island, which looks very simple.
Houses on the island of Kerguelen
There is no satellite signal on Kerguelen Island, no TV, and people can only watch downloaded movies and read books in the library to pass the time. Life here is boring, it is a lonely and lonely place, even the flora and fauna are very few, only a few bryophytes and walrus, seals, and birds can survive here.
Penguins on the island of Kerguelen
Heard Island (Australia)
Heard Island, south of Kerguelen, is also a lonely island, about 4,000 kilometres from Perth, Australia, and a volcanic island.
The Australian island of Heard covers an area of about 390 square kilometers, not to mention the small area of this island, but the island has high mountains. Australia's highest peak is Mowson Peak on Heard Island, 2745 meters above sea level, such a high mountain on the island, and in the high latitude area, relatively close to Antarctica, all kinds of factors add up to 80% of Heard Island is permafrost, the climate is colder.
Heard Island
Therefore, there is no permanent population on Heard Island, and occasionally Australian expeditions come to the island, they come for scientific expeditions and cannot live on the island for a long time. There are few species of flora and fauna on Heard Island, and there are more petrels here, which inhabit the caves of the island and can thrive in such an environment, so it is no wonder that people often praise the tenacity of petrels.
Moss and birds on Heard Island
Heard Island and Kerguelen Island are lonely places, far from the prosperity of the world, away from the world's strife, few people know about such two islands, but I hope that such a place will remain as nature is.
Thank you all for your comments and welcome to follow @Tanuki Travel, there is wonderful content to share every day.