French Southern and Antarctic Lands (French: Terres australes et antarctiques françaises, abbreviated TAAF), full name Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (French: Territoire des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises), consist of: a group of volcanic islands in the southern Indian Ocean, southeast of Africa, approximately equidistant between Africa, Antarctica and Australia; Adélie Land, the French claim on the Antarctica continent; the Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean. The territory is also often called the French Southern Lands (French: Terres australes françaises) or French Southern Territories, which excludes Adélie Land where French sovereignty is not recognized internationally. The lands are not connected to France Antarctique, a former French colony in Brazil. The territory has no permanent population; the population consists of military personnel, civilian officials, scientific researchers and support staff.
Mont Ross is a stratovolcano, the highest mountain in the Kerguelen Islands at 1,840 m. It is located in the Massif Gallieni range, at the end of the Gallieni peninsula on the main island of Grande Terre. The volcano is composed primarily of trachybasalt and was active during the late Pleistocene.
