Le Pouce (; English: "The Thumb") is the third highest mountain in
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
, at 812 meters (2664 feet).
Only
Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire
Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire (''Little Black River Peak'') is the highest mountain on the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. Located in the Rivière Noire District
Rivière, La Rivière, or Les Rivières (French for "river") may re ...
(828 m) and
Pieter Both (820 m) are taller. It is named Le Pouce because of the thumb-shaped peak of the mountain.
It can be viewed from the capital of Mauritius,
Port Louis
Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's ...
, and is a popular hike for the view of the city.
The mountain is in the
Moka Range and is closest to the village of
La Laura-Malenga in the
Moka District
Moka () is a district of Mauritius, situated in the central plateau of the island. The district has an area of 230.5 km2 and the population estimate was at 83,664 as at the end of 2019.
History
Places of interest
bagatelle mall,
Places
The M ...
.
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
ascended the mountain on 2 May 1836.
Natural features
The
Mascarene Islands, the island chain that Mauritius lies in, is a
volcanic belt
A volcanic belt is a large volcanically active region. Other terms are used for smaller areas of activity, such as volcanic fields. Volcanic belts are found above zones of unusually high temperature () where magma is created by partial melting ...
. Le Pouce is the second highest peak in the Moka Range, which was formed ten million years ago from volcano eruptions.
The range is a
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
lava dome
In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...
and is no longer volcanically active.
[
Le Pouce is overgrown with ]guava
Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, t ...
and acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus nam ...
, which are not native to the area. One example of flora endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to Le Pouce is ''Pandanus pseudomontanus
''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common na ...
'' commonly known as Le Pouce Mountain Screwpine. This plant is not officially listed on the IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolo ...
, but IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
has potentially assessed it as critically endangered. The only individuals of this species are two plants in the Le Pouce Mountain Nature Reserve. Since both of these are male plants, the species is at "extremely high risk of extinction'.
Hiking
The trek to the top of Le Pouce is considered an easy hike.Moka
Moka () is a village in Mauritius located in the Moka District, the western part of the village also lies in the Plaines Wilhems District. Since 1967 it forms part of Constituency No. 8 Quartier Militaire and Moka. The village is administered by ...
or Port Louis. Unlike Pieter Both, climbing gear is not needed. From the peak, Port Louis, Moka, and Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill
Beau Bassin-Rose Hill (or Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill; french: Villes sœurs; ) is a town in Mauritius, located in the Plaines Wilhems District. It is administered by the Municipal Council of Beau Bassin-Rose Hill and has a population of 147,066 habi ...
can be seen, as well as many other places around the island.
History
Le Pouce was formed ten million years ago in a basalt lava dome. Charles Darwin ascended the mountain during his voyage around the world. He recorded in his journal:
As time went by and tourism increased, hiking Le Pouce became a tourist attraction.
Le Pouce Nature Reserve
Le Pouce Nature Reserve was created in 1951. It protects an area of 0.69 km2 on the mountain's northwest flank.[UNEP-WCMC (2021). Protected Area Profile for Le Pouce Nature reserve from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 18 August 2021]
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Gallery
Port Louis from Le Pouce.jpg, The view of Port Louis from the summit
Moka Range.jpg, The Moka Range from the top of Le Pouce
Le Pouce1.jpg, A view of "The Thumb" from a hiking trail
Mauritius.png, Panoramic view of Mauritius from Le Pouce
View-from-Le-Pouce-facing-Pieter-Both-2017-Luka-Peternel.jpg, View from Le Pouce facing Pieter Both
View-from-Le-Pouce-facing-south-west-2017-Luka-Peternel.jpg, View from Le Pouce facing Moka, Mauritius, Moka village
References and notes
{{Coord, 20, 11, 50, S, 57, 31, 42.6, E, display=title
Mountains of Mauritius
Protected areas of Mauritius