South AfricaPrince Edward IslandsIsland
Marion Island
292 km² rising to 1,230 m out of the Indian Ocean.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
292km²
Area
93km
Coastline
1,230m
Highest point
50
People
7°C
Warmest sea
February
1,672km
To the mainland
When to go to Marion Island
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in February (7 °C) and coolest in September (5 °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.
Uninhabited, inhospitable sub-Antarctic volcano island owned by South Africa since 1947
Marion Island is an island in South Africa. It belongs to Prince Edward Islands. It covers 292 km², with 93 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 1,230 m. About 50 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,672 km away.
Getting there
- 1,672 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Marion Island.
- 2beachesTransvaal Cove
- 6named peaksMascarin Peak, Jan Smuts Peak, Isigodi samachibi and 3 more
- 10volcanoes3rd, Junior's Kop, Johnny's Hill and 7 more
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
Marion Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Marion Island, each with its own numbers.
7beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
7.4°C
Trypot Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
7 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Trypot Beach7.4°C
- Sealers Beach7.4°C
- Bullard’s Beach7.4°C
- Mixed Pickle Covecove7.3°C
- Ship’s Covecove7.4°C
- Transvaal Covecove7.4°C
- Killerwhale Covecove7.4°C
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 373 m above the sea. 37 % of it is below 200 m.
- 13 %0–50 m
- 25 %50–200 m
- 31 %200–500 m
- 28 %500–1,000 m
- 4 %1,000–2,000 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.
20 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) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Night low (°C) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Sea (°C) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 100 | 102 | 119 | 117 | 118 | 102 | 109 | 109 | 109 | 103 | 83 | 97 |
| Wet days | 19 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 19 |
| Sun h/day | 6.0 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 6.3 |
| Wind (km/h) | 33 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 37 | 38 | 40 | 39 | 39 | 36 | 34 | 34 |
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 | −0.2 | −0.6 | +0.3 | −0.3 | +0.2 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.7 | −0.4 | +0.3 | ±0.0 |
| 2021 | −1.3 | −1.0 | −0.5 | −0.5 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.2 | −0.2 | +0.2 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.9 |
| 2022 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 |
| 2023 | +0.8 | +0.6 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.4 | +0.2 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +1.1 |
| 2024 | +1.4 | +1.8 | +1.6 | +1.4 | +0.8 | +1.2 | +1.6 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.5 |
| 2025 | +0.2 | −0.3 | +0.1 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.3 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q2116298) · 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 — 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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