Joffre Peninsula
The Joffre Peninsula is a peninsula in the Kerguelen Islands, French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
It is located in the northern sector of Grande Terre, between the Baie Rhodes to the west, beyond which lies Île Foch, and the Baleiniers Gulf to the east, with the smaller Baie du Hillsborough to the south.
History
The present name of the Joffre Peninsula was given by the French Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service. Previously it had been named "Jeanne d'Arc Peninsula" by Raymond Rallier du Baty in 1922, and the peninsula now known as Jeanne d'Arc Peninsula was named Joffre Peninsula in honor of the Maréchal Joffre. However, owing to the proximity of the latter to Port Jeanne d'Arc, the Hydrographic Service decided to swap the names in 1937 to prevent confusing mariners in the future.Initially, in 1874, the peninsula had been named Bismarck Halbinsel by the German scientists of the Gazelle expedition who visited Kerguelen to observe the transit of Venus.
Edgar Aubert de la Rüe visited the peninsula on 8 January 1929 and wrote: "I have rarely seen shores as craggy and sinister-looking as those fringing the southern limit of this peninsula."