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Key facts about the department

Since the law of August 6, 1955, the French Southern and Antarctic Lands have been an Overseas Territory with administrative and financial autonomy.

This overseas collectivity, with administrative and financial autonomy, was created by the law of August 6, 1955, abrogating the decree of 1924 which attached these lands to the General Government of Madagascar. Decree no. 2008-919 of September 11, 2008, implementing the status of Taaf, is the main development text.

The Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (Taaf) comprise the Crozet archipelago, the Kerguelen archipelago, the Saint-Paul and Amsterdam islands, the Terre Adélie and, since the law of February 21, 2007, the scattered islands: Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, Europa and Bassas da India in the Mozambique Channel and Tromelin north of Reunion Island.

Districts:

• Crozet

The Crozet Islands (340 km2) are made up of five volcanic islands. The highest reaches 1,050 m. The climate is typical of the sub-Antarctic zone, particularly windy and rainy, with an average air temperature of 5°C and water temperature of 4°C. The archipelago lies between latitudes 45° 95 and 46° 50 South and longitudes 50° 33 and 52° 58 East, in the southern Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Antarctica. The archipelago is divided into two groups about 110 km apart. The western group includes Les Cochons, Les Apôtres and Les Pingouins, called the Cold Islands by Marion Dufresne, who discovered them in 1772. The eastern group includes Ile de la Possession and Ile de l'Est.

• Kerguelen

The Kerguelen archipelago is located between 48°35' and 49°54' South latitude and between 68°43' and 70°35' East longitude, at a distance of around :
- 2,000 km from the Antarctic coast ;
- 3,400 km from Reunion Island ;
- 4,800 km from Australia.

• Saint-Paul and Amsterdam

The Saint-Paul and Amsterdam district is located in the south of the Indian Ocean, and comprises two islands around 85 kilometers apart:
- Saint-Paul Island (38°43'S and 77°31'E)
- Amsterdam Island (37°50'S and 77°31'E), sometimes called New Amsterdam Island.

• Terre Adélie

The Terre Adélie district is located on the Antarctic continent and forms an angular sector (432,000 km²) of ice cap between the 136th and 142nd meridians of east longitude. Its summit is at the geographic South Pole, and its base is a 350-kilometer stretch of coastline bordering the Antarctic Circle, bathed by the Dumont d'Urville Sea.

• Eparses Islands

The Eparses Islands are a group of five islands: Bassas da India, Europa, Juan de Nova, Glorieuses in the Mozambique Channel and Tromelin, north of Reunion Island. They are located in the zone of formation or passage of tropical cyclones.