Cosmoledo
UTC+4) | |
ISO code | SC-26 |
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Official website | www |
Cosmoledo Atoll is an atoll of the Aldabra Group and belongs to the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, and is located 1,029 km (639 mi) southwest of the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island.
History
The name Cosmoledo honours António (or Antão) Gonçalves Cosme Ledo who sailed to India in 1537 as pilot of the vessel Flor de la Mar, becoming patron chief before returning to Portugal in 1545 aboard the São Joao. [1]
Menai and Wizard Islands were named after ships that explored the atoll on the Moresby Expedition in 1822.
In 1878, Sergeant Rivers visited the atoll and reported that judging by the turtle remains on the beach, the atoll was frequently visited by fishermen and whalers. He found a recently destroyed hut and ‘turtle park’ on Menai; a hut on the southern point of Wizard built from the wreckage of the Merry Monarch (wrecked in April 1874), which had been burnt. He reported that Menai was virtually covered with tall mangroves. Cosmoledo was settled shortly after this and a visitor in 1895 noted 200-300 coconut trees, maize and goats. By 1901, there were just two men on Menai, one on Wizard and four on North-east Island. Exploitation of guano on North-east Island was taking place in 1901, when 120 tons had been removed. A few years later, mangrove bark had become an important product; it was dried and exported for tannin. The atoll was inhabited as a fishing and turtling station until 1992 when it was abandoned.
Geography
Cosmoledo Atoll is a
List of islands
The Constitution of Seychelles names 20 islands although there are also a number of unnamed islets in the atoll.
Island | Sobriquet | type | Location | Area (hectares) |
Coastline (km) | Length (km) | Width (km) | elevation (m) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | cay | 09°40′00″S 47°33′54″E / 9.66667°S 47.56500°E | 0.22 | 0.20 | 0.07 | 0.03 | 0.00 | ||
2 | West North | Île du Nord | island | 09°39′39″S 47°34′20″E / 9.66083°S 47.57222°E | 12.10 | 2.26 | 0.83 | 0.17 | 8.00[2] |
3 | Central North | cay | 09°39′35″S 47°34′46″E / 9.65972°S 47.57944°E | 0.51 | 0.36 | 0.09 | 0.08 | 0.00 | |
4 | East North | Île Nord-Est | island | 09°39′48″S 47°35′10″E / 9.66333°S 47.58611°E | 6.30 | 1.40 | 0.37 | 0.45 | 0.00 |
5 | cay | 09°40′06″S 47°35′50″E / 9.66833°S 47.59722°E | 0.47 | 0.38 | 0.09 | 0.09 | 0.00 | ||
6 | cay | 09°40′28″S 47°36′36″E / 9.67444°S 47.61000°E | 0.42 | 0.29 | 0.05 | 0.06 | 0.00 | ||
7 | Trou | Île du Trou | cay | 09°41′19″S 47°37′45″E / 9.68861°S 47.62917°E | 0.32 | 0.30 | 0.13 | 0.04 | 0.00 |
8 | North Goëlettes | cay | 09°41′58″S 47°38′40″E / 9.69944°S 47.64444°E | 2.50 | 0.95 | 0.37 | 0.15 | 0.00 | |
9 | South Goëlettes | cay | 09°42′07″S 47°38′48″E / 9.70194°S 47.64667°E | 0.29 | 0.33 | 0.15 | 0.03 | 0.00 | |
10 | Grande Polyte | island | 09°43′14″S 47°39′26″E / 9.72056°S 47.65722°E | 27.70 | 4.00 | 0.21 | 1.64 | 0.00 | |
11 | Petite Polyte | island | 09°43′46″S 47°39′24″E / 9.72944°S 47.65667°E | 1.68 | 0.59 | 0.20 | 0.10 | 0.00 | |
12 | Wizard Island | Grande Île | island | 09°45′00″S 47°39′00″E / 9.75000°S 47.65000°E | 160.40 | 9.60 | 3.6 | 0.56 | 17.00 |
13 | Pagode | cay | 09°45′48″S 47°36′24″E / 9.76333°S 47.60667°E | 5.00 | 1.24 | 0.42 | 0.19 | 6.10 [3] | |
14 | South | Île du Sud-Ouest | island | 09°46′13″S 47°34′58″E / 9.77028°S 47.58278°E | 42.30 | 6.5 | 0.25 | 2.92 | 6.00[2] |
15 | Moustiques | Île aux Moustiques | island | 09°43′57″S 47°30′35″E / 9.73250°S 47.50972°E | 1.90 | 0.66 | 0.24 | 0.11 | 0.00 |
16 | Baleine | Île Baleine | island | 09°43′28″S 47°30′40″E / 9.72444°S 47.51111°E | 1.05 | 0.45 | 0.10 | 0.14 | 0.00 |
17 | Menai | island | 09°43′S 47°31′E / 9.717°S 47.517°E | 246.80 | 10.05 | 1.10 | 3.18 | 12.20[3] | |
18 | Bat | Île aux Chauve-Souris | island | 09°42′55″S 47°31′15″E / 9.71528°S 47.52083°E | 0.12 | 0.14 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.00 |
19 | Macaques | Île aux Macaques | island | 09°42′17″S 47°31′51″E / 9.70472°S 47.53083°E | 0.55 | 0.33 | 0.06 | 0.10 | 0.00 |
20 | West Rat | Île aux Rats | island | 09°42′20″S 47°31′38″E / 9.70556°S 47.52722°E | 0.08 | 0.12 | 0.03 | 0.05 | 0.00 |
21 | East Rat | Île aux Rats | island | 09°42′19″S 47°31′41″E / 9.70528°S 47.52806°E | 0.11 | 0.15 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.00 |
22 | La Croix | Ilot la Croix | island | 09°42′17″S 47°31′42″E / 9.70472°S 47.52833°E | 0.22 | 0.22 | 0.05 | 0.06 | 0.00 |
23 | Observation | island | 09°42′14″S 47°32′09″E / 9.70389°S 47.53583°E | 0.46 | 0.33 | 0.05 | 0.10 | 0.00 | |
24 | Middle | Îlet Milieu | island | 09°42′10″S 47°32′14″E / 9.70278°S 47.53722°E | 0.56 | 0.50 | 0.20 | 0.05 | 0.00 |
25 | Little Astove | cay | 09°41′47″S 47°33′00″E / 9.69639°S 47.55000°E | 0.22 | 0.19 | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.00 | |
26 | cay | 09°40′16″S 47°33′42″E / 9.67111°S 47.56167°E | 0.03 | 0.08 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.00 | ||
Cosmoledo Atoll | Atoll | 09°43′S 47°35′E / 9.717°S 47.583°E | 513.00 | 10 |
The South-East passage is between Pagoda Island and Wizard Island. Menai Island west coast is sandy. Johannes Point, the NW extremity of the island, is conspicuous. The village is located at this point.
Demographics
Menai has a large cemetery. the village was abandoned in 1992.
Administration
The island belongs to Outer Islands District.[4]
Flora and fauna
Cosmoledo is an
The lagoon is an important feeding ground for migratory waders, with
The flora is similar to that of Aldabra, with fewer species but including several plants endemic to the group. As on Aldabra there are areas of tall mangrove, especially on the lagoon side of Menai Island. Coconuts are common only on Menai, where many were planted.
Lizards include Bouton's
The Island Conservation Society employs staff during the fishing season, conducting conservation and rehabilitation work on the atoll. Rats have been eradicated from all islands except Menai.[7][8]
Tourism
There are fly-fishing cruises to the atoll on a regular basis.[9] The IDC have proposed a plan for an eco-resort with about 20 rooms to be built at Menai in 2019.[10]
Image gallery
-
Map of the Seychelles
-
District Map
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Cosmoledo Atoll and Astove Island
-
Satellite map
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Cosmoledo from airplane
References
- ISBN 9781904722649.
- ^ a b 2010 Sailing directions
- ^ a b Info on the islands Archived April 13, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ District map
- ^ News
- ^ Rocamora, G. Feare C.J., Skerrett, A., Athanase, M. and Greig, E. 2003. The breeding avifauna of Cosmoledo Atoll (Seychelles) with special reference to seabirds: conservation status and international importance. Bird Conservation International 13: 151-174.
- ^ IDC plans airport
- ^ Arrest of poachers 2015
- ^ Fly-fishing 1
- ^ "Future development" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
External links
- National Bureau of Statistics
- Atoll research Bulletin
- Atoll Research Bulletin vol. 83 "Notes on some of the Seychelles Islands, Indian Ocean"
- Atoll Research Bulletin vol. 136 "Coral islands of the Western Indian Ocean" (map of Cosmoledo, p. 139)
- Satellite Images
- Island Conservation Society Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine
- Fishing at Cosmoledo