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The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands are named Marion Island (''named after Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne'') and Prince Edward Island (named after Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn). The islands in the group have been declared Special Nature Reserves under the South African Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, No. 57 of 2003, and activities on the islands are therefore restricted to research and conservation management. The only human inhabitants of the islands are the staff of a meteorological and biological research station run by the South African National Antarctic Programme on Marion Island. == Geography and geology == The island group is about south-east of Port Elizabeth in mainland South Africa. Marion Island (), the larger of the two, is long and wide with an area of and a coastline of some , most of which is high cliffs. The highest point on Marion Island is Mascarin Peak (formerly State President Swart Peak), reaching above sea level. Boot Rock is about off the northern coast. Prince Edward Island () is much smaller—only about , long and wide—and lies some to the north-east of Marion Island. At the van Zinderen Bakker Peak north-west of the center, it reaches a height of .〔(Peakbagger - Van Zinderen Bakker Peak, South Africa )〕 There are a few offshore rocks along the northern coast, like Ship Rock (, north of northernmost point) and Ross Rocks (, from the shore). Both islands are of volcanic origin. Marion Island is one of the peaks of a large underwater shield volcano that rises some from the sea floor to the top of Mascarin Peak. The volcano is active, with eruptions having occurred between 1980 and 2004.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=234070 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Prince Edward Islands」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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