Larak Island
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Larak Island (also Lark Island) is an island off the coast of
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, which has been one of Iran's major oil export points since 1987. The narrowest part of the Strait of Hormuz at distance of lies between the island and the Omani-owned Quoin Island.


History

During their occupation in the 16th century, the Portuguese built fortresses here, as well as on the nearby Qeshm and
Hormuz Island Hormuz Island (; fa, جزیره هرمز ''Jazireh-ye Hormoz''), also spelled Hormoz, is an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf. Located in the Strait of Hormuz, off the Iranian coast, the island is part of Hormozgan Province. It is sparsely ...
s. The island contains an Iranian military base which maintains several Chinese-made Silkworm HY-2 surface-to-surface missiles placed there in 1987. A floating terminal was established on Larak Island in June 1986. The island was bombed by
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
in November and December 1986, as part of the
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...
. As part of
Operation Praying Mantis Operation Praying Mantis was an attack on 18 April 1988, by the United States Armed Forces within Iranian territorial waters in retaliation for the Iranian naval mining of the Persian Gulf during the Iran–Iraq War and the subsequent damage t ...
, the Iranian frigate ''Sahand'' was sunk by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, 200 meters southwest of Larak Island. On 14 May 1988, the largest ship at the time, the Liberian
supertanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined ...
, '' Seawise Giant'', whilst carrying crude Iranian oil, was sunk by Iraqi
anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A goo ...
s off the coast of Larak Island. The ship was later refloated and repaired.


Demographics

Larak Island is located in the Larak Rural District, which is within the Shahab District. Two settlements are on the island: Larak Shahri and Larak Kuhi. Larak Shahri is the largest of the two villages, with a population of 466 people and 98 families.


Nature

The waters around Larak Island are one of the most diverse
coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...
areas in the environment of the Persian Gulf. There are 37 species of
scleractinian corals Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mo ...
identified around Larak Island.


See also

*
List of lighthouses in Iran This is a list of lighthouses in Iran. Retrieved 2 October 2016 Lighthouses See also * Lists of lighthouses References External links * {{Asia topic, List of lighthouses in Iran Lighthouses Lighthouses A lighthouse is a t ...
*
Bandar Lengeh Bandar Lengeh ( fa, بندرلنگه, also Romanized as Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e-Langeh and Bandar Langeh; also known simply as Lengeh, Linja, Linjah or Lingah) is a harbour city and capital of Bandar Lengeh County, in Hormozgan province of ...
* Hormozgān


References


External links


Language of Larak

Picture of Jazīreh-ye Lārak North Lighthouse
{{Lighthouse identifiers , qid2=Q106097403 Islands of Iran Qeshm County Landforms of Hormozgan Province Lighthouses in Iran Strait of Hormuz