Why Clipperton Island
Clipperton Island, officially known in French as La Passion–Clipperton, is an uninhabited coral near-atoll encompassing 8.9 square kilometers in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Situated approximately 1,080 kilometers southwest of Mexico, this low-lying territory represents the sole French possession in the North Pacific. The island consists of a narrow ring of land averaging two meters in height that surrounds a central body of water. Its most prominent topographical feature is Clipperton Rock, a 29-meter volcanic outcropping on the southeastern edge that constitutes the remaining rim of an extinct volcano.
The core of the atoll is dominated by a stagnant, landlocked lagoon measuring 12 kilometers in circumference. Enclosed roughly 170 years ago, the lagoon features stratified water layers, with brackish, oxygenated water near the surface and deep, anoxic layers containing hydrogen sulfide. While mostly shallow, it contains several basins reaching depths between 43 and 72 meters, including an acidic spot known as Trou Sans Fond. Ten small islets lie within the lagoon. Surrounding the atoll is an exposed coral reef that, combined with localized sea conditions, renders maritime landings and offshore anchoring notably hazardous.
The environment is largely a barren, sandy landscape dotted with low shrubs, spiny grasses, and scattered stands of coconut palms, including a southwestern grove known as Bougainville Wood. Native land fauna includes two reptile species—the Pacific stump-toed gecko and copper-tailed skink—alongside vast populations of bright-orange Clipperton land crabs. Designated as an Important Bird Area, the island hosts a major breeding colony of approximately 110,000 masked boobies, along with brown boobies, frigatebirds, noddies, and terns. Invasive ship rats also inhabit the land mass.
First documented by French merchant-explorers in 1711, the territory was formally claimed by France in 1858. American guano miners worked the island in the late 19th century, and Mexico established a small military settlement in 1905. Following an international ownership dispute arbitrated by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, sovereignty was officially assigned to France in 1931. The United States Navy briefly operated a weather station on the atoll during World War II before abandoning the site in late 1945.
Clipperton experiences a tropical oceanic climate, with average temperatures ranging from 20 to 32 degrees Celsius, high humidity, and heavy annual rainfall between 3,000 and 5,000 millimeters. Drier conditions prevail from December to March, while the rainy season extends from May to October. The island currently lacks permanent human residents or commercial tourism infrastructure. It serves primarily as a destination for scientific research expeditions studying climate change and migratory marine wildlife, supplemented by amateur radio operations and periodic visits from the French Navy.
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