Preparis Island is an island which is part of the

Yangon Region Yangon Region (, ; formerly Rangoon Division and Yangon Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar. Located in central Myanmar, the region is bordered by Bago Region to the north and east, the Gulf of Martaban to the south, and Ayeyarwady ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. Together, with the other

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

(the majority of which are a

union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

), it marks the boundary between the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

and the

Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and the west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated f ...

. The island has a population of 50 and a total area of . The island is to the SSW of

Cape Negrais Cape Negrais (, also known as Pagoda Point (ဆံတော်ရှင်မြတ်ငူ) or Mawtin Point (မော်တင်စွန်း, Mawtin Soon) is a cape in Burma (Myanmar), west of the Irrawaddy Delta. It is located 133 k ...

, the nearest point on the Myanmar mainland and south of the capital,

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

. The five

Coco Islands The Coco Islands () are a small group of islands in the northeastern Bay of Bengal. They are part of the Yangon Region of Myanmar since 1937. The islands are located south of the city of Yangon. Coco Island group consists of five islands: four ...

(also part of Myanmar) are to the south.

History

According to 19th century visitors, the island was uninhabited by humans, but many monkeys were observed. The island was host to the 78th Highlanders regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

when on 5 November 1816 the regiment's transport ship hit an off-shore rock. Most passengers and crew survived on the island as a freshwater supply was discovered and their stay was brief. The merchant ship arrived on 10 November and between 11 and 14 November was able to rescue some 316 men, women, and children. The weather and damage to ''Prince Blucher'' prevented her from rescuing another hundred. The Government of Bengal then sent two cruisers that then rescued the remainder.

Geography

Preparis island makes up the northern end of the

chain. The island is long and has a maximum width of . It is covered with dense forest and has gentle slopes rising to a maximum height of . ;Cow and Calf Islets A group of 3 Flat-topped islets, , to the north.Nautical
/ref> ;West Reef Islets A group of 3 islets, , to the west. ;Preparis Pinnacle A rock, high, to the south.

Flora and fauna

The island is covered with low trees and bush. It has extensive flora coverage and area remains largely uncleared.Crawfurd, John, ''Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the Courts of Siam and Cochin China'', 1830

Administration

The island is subject to the Cocokyun

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of Myanmar, along the

Demographics

The island has about 50 inhabitants who engage in very small scale farming and fishing, mainly for the local consumption; part of a military unit that inhabits remote border outposts.

Transportation

Several beaches can cater for small supply craft. A small helipad serves the settlement.

References

External links

Official Nautical Chart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preparis Populated places in Yangon Region Islands of Myanmar