Saint-Paul Island

Saint-Paul Island is a drowned volcanic crater whose eastern wall has broken open, so the sea runs into the middle of it through a gap a boat can pass at slack water. The rim rises steeply all around and the water inside is warm in places where the ground still heats it. Rockhopper penguins breed on the ledges and fur seals lie on the stones. The ruins of a lobster cannery stand on the shore, abandoned after a winter that killed most of the people left behind. Landing is rare and needs a permit.