1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Crozet Islands

CROZET ISLANDS, an uninhabited group in the Indian Ocean, in 46°-47° S. and 51° E. They are mountainous, with summits from 4000 to 5000 ft. high, and are disposed in two divisions—Penguin or Inaccessible, Hog, Possession and East Islands; and the Twelve Apostles. Like Kerguelen, and other clusters in these southern waters, they appear to be of igneous formation; but owing to the bleak climate and their inaccessible character they are seldom visited, and have never been explored since their discovery in 1772 by Marion-Dufresne, after one of whose officers they are named. Possession, the highest, has a snowy peak said to exceed 5000 ft. Hog Island takes its name from the animals which were here let loose by an English captain many years ago, but have since disappeared. Rabbits burrow in the heaps of scoria on the slopes of the mountains.