Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean

Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean Îles éparses de l'océan indien
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Motto:  "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité" (French) "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem: La Marseillaise
Maps of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean. Anti-clockwise from top right: Tromelin Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, Bassas da India, Europa Island.

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The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean (French: Îles Éparses or Îles éparses de l'océan indien) consist of four small coral islands, an atoll, and a reef in the Indian Ocean, and have constituted the 5th district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF) since February 2007. They have no permanent population. Three of the islands — the Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova, and Europa — and the Bassas da India atoll lie in the Mozambique Channel west of Madagascar, while the fourth island, Tromelin, lies about 450 kilometres (280 mi) east of Madagascar.

The islands have been classified as nature reserves. Except for Bassas da India, they all support meteorological stations: those on the Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova, and Europa Island are automated. The station on Tromelin Island, in particular, provides warning of cyclones threatening Madagascar, Réunion, or Mauritius. Each of the islands, except Bassas da India, has an airstrip of more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). Mauritius, the Comoros, the Seychelles, and Madagascar dispute France's sovereignty over the islands. Mauritius and the Seychelles claim Tromelin; the Comoros, Madagascar, and the Seychelles claim the Glorioso Islands; the Comoros and Madagascar claim Banc du Geyser; and Madagascar claims the remaining islands.

Overview

Atoll/Island	Station Staff	Area km²	Lagoon km²	EEZ km²	Coordinates	Location
Glorioso Islands	11	5	29.6	48350	11°33′S 47°20′E	North Mozambique Channel
Juan de Nova Island	14	4.4	(1)	61050	17°03′S 42°45′E	Central Mozambique Channel
Bassas da India	-	0.2	79.8	123700	21°27′S 39°45′E	South Mozambique Channel
Europa Island	12	28	9	127300	22°20′S 40°22′E	South Mozambique Channel
Tromelin Island	19	0.8	-	280000	15°53′S 54°31′E	Western Indian Ocean
Total	56	38.6	118.4	640400

Individual islands

• Bassas da India
  • Ten unnamed rock islets
• Europa Island
  • Île Europa
  • Eight unnamed rock islets
• Glorioso Islands
  • Grande Glorieuse
  • Île du Lys
  • Wreck Rock
  • South Rock
  • Verte Rocks (three islets)
  • Three unnamed islets
• Juan de Nova Island
• Tromelin Island

Administration

Since January 3, 2005, the Îles Éparses have been administered on behalf of the French state by the senior administrator of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF — les Terres Australes et Antartiques Françaises), based in Réunion. The Îles Éparses had previously been under the administration of the prefect of Réunion since the independence of Madagascar in 1960. France maintains a military garrison of around 14 troops on each of the islands in the Mozambique Channel that are claimed by Madagascar. The Glorioso Islands are also claimed by the Comoros, while Mauritius claims Tromelin Island.

France claims an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 200 nautical miles (370 km) around each of the small islands in the Îles Éparses, which together with the EEZ claims for the islands of Réunion and Mayotte totals more than one million square kilometres (400,000 sq mi) in the western Indian Ocean. There is considerable overlap of the EEZ with the neighbouring states.

See also

• French overseas departments and territories
• Administrative divisions of France
• French Southern and Antarctic Lands

External links

• Official website (French)
• Îles Éparses travel guide from Wikivoyage