France
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
52.1km²
Area
29km
Coastline
867m
Highest point
Mont de la Dives
28
People
18°C
Warmest sea
February
3,286km
To the mainland
When to go to Île Amsterdam
Best to visit from January to March.
The sea is warmest in February (18 °C) and coolest in September (13 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Islands in the southern Indian Ocean
Île Amsterdam is an island in France. It covers 52.1 km², with 29 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mont de la Dives, rises to 867 m. About 28 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 3,286 km away.
Getting there
- 3,286 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Marchbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Île Amsterdam.
- 4named peaksMont de la Dives, La Grande Marmite, le Mont du Fernand and 1 more
- 5volcanoes
- 2restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Île Amsterdam in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Île Amsterdam, each with its own numbers.
2beaches and covesCoastya
10mountainsPeakyas
Highest point
867m
according to Peakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
18.3°C
Plage des Loups Marins
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
2 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Plage des Loups Marins18.3°C
- Plage des Gorfous18.3°C
10 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Île Amsterdam867m
- Mont de la Divesprominence 867 m867m
- Le Pignon695m
- La Rambarde584m
- Faux Sommet404m
- Plateau des Tourbières
- Amsterdam Volcano
- Mont du Fernand
2 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 338 m above the sea. 38 % of it is below 200 m.
- 6 %0–50 m
- 32 %50–200 m
- 32 %200–500 m
- 30 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 |
| Night low (°C) | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 |
| Sea (°C) | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 |
| Rain (mm) | 68 | 51 | 90 | 58 | 85 | 83 | 67 | 70 | 64 | 65 | 72 | 67 |
| Wet days | 13 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Sun h/day | 8.6 | 7.6 | 6.2 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 7.0 | 7.4 | 8.4 |
| Wind (km/h) | 24 | 24 | 25 | 28 | 34 | 35 | 37 | 35 | 35 | 31 | 29 | 26 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −1.6 | −1.1 | −0.7 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | −0.6 | −0.7 | −0.6 | −0.4 | −0.5 | ±0.0 |
| 2021 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +0.8 | −0.3 | −0.5 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | +1.0 | +0.6 |
| 2022 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.1 | −0.4 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.1 |
| 2023 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.7 | −0.2 | +1.0 | +2.3 | +1.2 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.9 | +0.4 |
| 2024 | +0.9 | −0.5 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.7 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.2 | −0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q194215) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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