Mombasa Island is a

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and se ...

outcrop located on

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

's coast on the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

, which is connected to the mainland by a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tr ...

. Part of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town ...

is located on the island, including the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

History

The old town of Mombasa is located at the eastern, seaward end of the island.

Kilindini Kilindini Harbour is a large, natural deep-water inlet extending inland from Mombasa, Kenya. It is at its deepest center, although the controlling depth is the outer channel in the port approaches with a dredged depth of . It serves as the harbo ...

and Port Reitz, the modern deepwater

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

and

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

separates the island from the Kenyan mainland to the south. The old harbour, which is named Port Tudor and guarded by

Fort Jesus Fort Jesus (Portuguese: ''Forte Jesus de Mombaça, Spanish: Fuerte de Jesús'') is a fort located on Mombasa Island. Designed by Italian Giovanni Battista Cairati, it was built between 1593 and 1596 by order of King Felipe II of Castille, ...

, and

Tudor Creek Tudor Creek is one of two main water bodies separating Mombasa Island (and the city of Mombasa) from the Kenyan mainland (the other body being Kilindini Harbour). Before the estuary into the Indian Ocean, the tidal creek passes under the Ny ...

separate the island from the northern mainland. Modern residential sprawl and industrial areas now occupy the rest of the island. Mombasa is linked to the mainland by the

Makupa Causeway The Makupa Causeway () is a causeway linking Mombasa island to the Kenyan mainland. The road runs for approximately one and a half miles between the Magongo Circus and Makupa Circus. The causeway dissects Tudor Creek to the east and Port Rei ...

to the northwest, by the Nyali Bridge to the east and by the

Likoni Ferry The Likoni Ferry is a ferry service across the Kilindini Harbour, serving the Kenyan city of Mombasa between the Mombasa island side and the mainland suburb of Likoni. Two - four double-ended ferries alternate across the harbour, carrying both ...

to the south. A road and rail bridge also serve the mainland

container port A container port or container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example train ...

near Port Reitz. Port Tudor and Tudor Creek were named by Owen Tudor the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

captain who first surveyed the area.

Geography

Mombasa Island is one of the four divisions of

Mombasa County ) , pushpin_map = Kenya , mapsize = , map_caption = Location of Mombasa County , seat_type = Capital , seat = Mombasa , subdi ...

. The division has a population of 1,208,333 (2019 census). It is divided into six subdivisions: * Ganjoni * Railway * Tononoka * Tudor * Majengo *

References

Coastal islands of Kenya Mombasa County Mombasa {{CoastKE-geo-stub

History

Geography

See also

References