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France FranceArchipel de MolèneIsland

Molène

0.76 km² of land in the Bay of Biscay.

When to go

Molène seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
N 0.2 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

0.76km²

Area

5km

Coastline

25m

Highest point

176

People

16°C

Warmest sea

August

13km

To the mainland

When to go to Molène

Good all year round.

The sea is warmest in August (16 °C) and coolest in March (10 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days

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.

Island in Finistère, France

Molène is an island in France. It belongs to Archipel de Molène. It covers 0.76 km², with 5 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 25 m. About 176 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 13 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

On the island

What you find on Molène.

  • 10beachesAncienne Décharge and 9 more
  • 3viewpointsRocher du Roelen et anse du Vougeu
  • 1lighthouses
  • 1ferry terminalsGare Maritime
  • 2marinasPort de Molène
  • 10ruins and archaeological sitesHabitat préhistorique, Four à goëmon, Menhir and 7 more
  • 1waymarked walking routesL'Île de Molène
  • 2campsitesCamping municipal de Molène
  • 3hotels, guesthouses and apartments
  • 3restaurants, 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.

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 14 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.

  • 100 %0–50 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.

Molène1 km²
Alcatraz Island0 km²

0.2 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)101011121416181817151311
Night low (°C)8889111416161513119
Sea (°C)111010111214161615141412
Rain (mm)108907055585555594794111113
Wet days191514131211121212161819
Sun h/day1.63.04.67.38.28.58.37.36.64.12.21.4
Wind (km/h)313028242220202021253031

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020+0.3+0.7+0.5+1.0+1.2+1.0+0.5+0.6+0.9−0.9±0.0+0.5
2021+0.3+0.2+0.3+0.3−0.1+0.6−0.3−0.1+0.9+0.4+0.3±0.0
2022+0.1+0.4+0.6+0.8+1.2+0.3−0.1−0.5+0.2±0.0+0.9+0.6
2023+0.9+0.5+0.5+0.5+0.6+1.4+0.6−0.2+0.9+1.6+0.9+0.6
2024+0.7+1.1+1.5+1.3+1.3+0.7±0.0+0.3−0.5+0.2+1.0+0.6
2025+0.5+0.1+0.6+1.4+1.6+1.4+0.6+0.2+0.3+0.5+0.5+0.8

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

Four à soude-ILE MOLENE
Louboutinj · CC BY-SA 3.0
Amer Molène
Julien Carnot · CC BY-SA 3.0
IslandMolene
Roquex · CC0
MoleneIsland
Roquex · CC0

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q2428252) · CC0
Outline© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

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