A French island located more than 9,000 km from the mainland holds a treasure submerged in the clear waters of the Indian Ocean. Off the coast of Reunion Island, nearly 96 miles to the northwest, you’ll have to dive almost 60 meters from the surface to discover Mont La Pérouse.
It is a landform also known as the “90 Mile Bank” which appeared on maps in the 1960s. The underwater formation originates at a depth of more than 5,000 meters and its summit can be seen at about 60 meters from the surface, over a width of 12 kilometers.
Known by fishermen for its profusion of fish, it is the subject of some studies, the first of which was conducted in 2019. Scientists are trying to understand the reason for the size of the landform, to explore its ecosystem, but also to discover if it is actually a disappeared island. The island Santa Apolonia is indeed present on some old maps, but is today untraceable. Could it be a single formation?
But don’t be mistaken! Even if its name is indeed that of our dear 18th century explorer, it is in reality that of the military hydrographic ship in charge of mapping the ocean floor, and discoverer of the submarine mountain.
And you, did you know the Mount La Pérouse?
To continue your discovery of the surroundings of Mont La Pérouse, let yourself be carried away by an ode to La Réunion.
To the island of my birth
O land of palms, country of Eleanor,
The sea and the birds fill the air with their songs!
Isle of Bengali, of breezes, of dawn!
Immaculate lotus emerging from the blue waters!
Slender and sweet child of strong nature,
You who on the contours of your pure nakedness,
Free, let your hair roll in the wind,
Virgin and beautiful today like Eve at her awakening;
Native muse, muse with a radiant smile,
You who in your beauties, young, taught me to read,
To you my songs! To you my hymns and my lyre,
O land where I was born! O land of the sun!
Auguste Lacaussade (1815-1897, French poet from Reunion Island)