Bassas Da India
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Bassas da India (; ) is an uninhabited, roughly circular
atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...
located in the southern
Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...
, about halfway between
Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
and
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
(about further east) and around northwest of Europa Island. It is administered by
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
as part of the
French Southern and Antarctic Lands The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (, TAAF) is an overseas territory ( or ) of France. It consists of: * Adélie Land (), the French claim on the continent of Antarctica. * Crozet Islands (), a group in the southern Indian Ocean, south ...
, though it is claimed by
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. The rim of the atoll averages around in width and encloses a shallow
lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...
of depth no greater than . Overall, the atoll is about in diameter, rising steeply from the
seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as seabeds. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...
below to encircle an area (including lagoon) of . Its
exclusive economic zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...
, in size, is
contiguous Contiguity or contiguous may refer to: *Contiguous data storage, in computer science *Contiguity (probability theory) *Contiguity (psychology) *Contiguous distribution of species, in biogeography *Geographic contiguity Geographic contiguity is t ...
with that of Europa Island. The atoll consists of ten barren rocky
islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...
s, with no vegetation, totaling in area. Those on the north and east sides are high, while those on the west and south sides are high. The reef, whose coastline measures , is entirely covered by the sea from three hours before
high tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...
to three hours afterward. The region is also subject to
cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...
s, making the atoll a long-time maritime hazard and the site of numerous shipwrecks. Jaguar Seamount and Hall Tablemount lie about further southwest.


History

The Bassas da India was first recorded by Portuguese explorers in the early sixteenth century as the "''Baixo da'' Judia" ("''Jewess'' Shoals"). The ''Judia'' ("''Jewess''", for the ancestry of its owner
Fernão de Loronha Fernão de Loronha ( or earlier – ), whose name is often corrupted to Fernando de Noronha or Fernando della Rogna, was a prominent 16th-century Portuguese merchant of Lisbon, of Jewish descent. He was the first charter-holder (1502–1512 ...
) was the Portuguese ship that discovered the feature by running aground on it in 1506. The name became "Bassas da India" due to transcription errors by cartographers. The ''Santiago'' broke up on the shoal in 1585. It was rediscovered by the ''Europa'' in 1774, whence the name "Europa Rocks". The ''Malay'' was lost 27 July 1842 on the Europa Rocks. In 1897, the shoal became a French possession, later being placed under the administration of a commissioner residing in
Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
in 1968.
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
became independent in 1960 and has claimed sovereignty over the shoal since 1972. The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean are partially claimed by the Comoros, Madagascar, and Mauritius. The Malagasy and Mauritian claims, however, are significantly later than their access to independence. However, the agreement reached in October 2024 on the restitution to Mauritius of the Chagos Islands by Great Britain, in the heart of the Indian Ocean, notably home to the American base of Diego Garcia, has relaunched the debate in Madagascar.


Wildlife

The presence of
Galapagos shark The Galapagos shark (''Carcharhinus galapagensis'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, found worldwide. It favors clear reef environments around oceanic islands, where it is often the most abundant shark species. A large ...
s was reported in 2003, which is a first in the
Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...
.


Tourism

Mooring at Bassas da India requires a permit from the French Government. Fishing without such a permit may result in the boat being expelled or even confiscated. Several illegal tourism charters departing from Mozambique or South Africa have been seized since 2013 by the
French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
.


Gallery

File:Bassas da India atoll map-fr.png, Detailed map. File:Bassas da india.jpg,
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
(ISS) photograph. File:Bassas da India.png,
Landsat 7 Landsat 7 is the seventh satellite of the Landsat program. Launched on 15 April 1999, Landsat 7's primary goal is to refresh the global archive of satellite photos, providing up-to-date and cloud-free images. The Landsat program is managed and ...
image. File:Bassas da India-CIA WFB Map.png, ''CIA World Factbook'' map. File:Bassas da india 76.jpg,
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
map. File:Bassas da India in Sunglint.jpg, ISS image of Bassas da India with varying degrees of sunglint.


References


Further reading

*


External links

* *
Sailing Directions: East Africa and the South Indian Ocean

French Southern and Antarctic Lands
''
The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a Reference work, reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The off ...
''.
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
.. {{authority control Indian Ocean atolls of France Atolls of Madagascar Uninhabited islands of France Islands of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands Territorial disputes of France Territorial disputes of Madagascar France–Madagascar relations