Nouvelle Amsterdam

Nouvelle Amsterdam, island in the southern Indian Ocean, administratively a part of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories (q.v.). An extinct volcano rises to 2,989 feet (911 m) above sea level on the island, which has an area of 18 square miles (47 square km). It was discovered in 1522 by members of Ferdinand Magellan’s crew and named in 1633 by a Dutch explorer, Anthony van Diemen. With the island of Saint-Paul, it was annexed by France in 1843. In 1949 a permanent research and administrative station, Camp Heurtin, was established on the island.