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Map of the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory)

The Chagos Archipelago is a group of six atolls with more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, that lies about 500 km (300 miles) due south of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, and 1600 km (1000 miles) southwest of India, halfway between Africa and Indonesia. Comprising the British Indian Ocean Territory, the entire archipelago is a British overseas territory. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Chagos Archipelago comprises six main and six submerged atolls: 1. ... Updated map from the 2005 Factbook. ... Fanning Atoll (Tabuaeran) is a typical, small to moderate-sized atoll located in the central Pacific Ocean. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent and 3rd most populous. ... A United Kingdom overseas territory (formerly known as a dependent territory or earlier as a crown colony) is a territory that is under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but is not part of the United Kingdom proper (Great Britain and Northern Ireland). ...

Geography

The entire land area of the islands is a mere 60 km², with the largest island, Diego García, having an area of 27.20 km². The archipelago consists of seven atoll formations of all sizes which have islands oder cays permanently over water, including the largest atoll structure of the world, the Great Chagos bank with a total area (mostly water) of 13,000 km². This article refers to the atoll. ... A cay or key is a small, low island consisting mostly of sand or coral. ... Fanning Atoll (Tabuaeran) is a typical, small to moderate-sized atoll located in the central Pacific Ocean. ... The Great Chagos Bank, in the Chagos Archipelago, about 500 km South of the Maldives, is the largest atoll structure in the world, with a total area of roughly 13 000 km2. ...

1. Diego García (including Diego Garcia and three smaller islets at the Northern end)
2. Egmont Islands or Six Iles (7 islets)
3. Peros Banhos (27 islets)
4. Salomon Islands (11 islets)
5. Great Chagos Bank (7 islets)
6. Blenheim Reef (3 islets)
7. Speakers Bank (1 islet)

The largest individual islands by are are Diego García (27.20 km²), Eagle (Great Chagos Bank, 2.45 km²), Ile Pierre (Peros Banhos, 1.50 km²), Eastern Egmont (Egmont Islands, 1.50 km²), Ile de Coin (Peros Banhos, 1.28 km²) and Ile Boddam (Salomon Islands, 1.08 km²). This article refers to the atoll. ... The Egmont Islands (Six Iles) are one of the six coral atolls that make up the Chagos Archipelago. ... Peros Banhos is a group of thirty-five main islands in the Chagos Archipelago of the British Indian Ocean Territory, forming a circular coral reef. ... The Salomon Islands, an atoll of the British Indian Ocean Territory, are located in the Northeast of the Chagos Archipelago. ... The Great Chagos Bank, in the Chagos Archipelago, about 500 km South of the Maldives, is the largest atoll structure in the world, with a total area of roughly 13 000 km2. ... Blenheim Reef is a largely submerged coral atoll in the northeastern part of the Chagos Archipelago. ... Speakers Bank is an Atoll in the Chagos Archipelago, it includes several tiny islets but only one main island that may have been inhabited earlier this century. ...

The number of atolls in the Chagos Islands is given as four or five in most sources, plus two island groups and two single islands, mainly because it is not recognized that the Great Chagos Bank is a huge atoll structure (including those two island groups and two single islands), and because it is not recognized that Blenheim Reef and Speakers Bank have islets or cays above or just reaching the high water mark. The Great Chagos Bank, in the Chagos Archipelago, about 500 km South of the Maldives, is the largest atoll structure in the world, with a total area of roughly 13 000 km2. ... Blenheim Reef is a largely submerged coral atoll in the northeastern part of the Chagos Archipelago. ... Speakers Bank is an Atoll in the Chagos Archipelago, it includes several tiny islets but only one main island that may have been inhabited earlier this century. ...

In addition to the seven atolls with dry land reaching at least the high water mark, there are at least nine banks, most of which can be considered permanently submerged atoll structures.

1. Colvocoresses Reef
2. Benares Shoals
3. Victory Bank
4. Cauvin Bank
5. Pitt Bank
6. Ganges Bank
7. Wight Bank
8. Centurion Bank
9. Owen Bank

Colvocoresses Reef is an atoll structure in the southwest of the Chagos Archipelago, close to Diego Garcia. ... Benares Shoals are a group of islets and cays that make up a submerged atoll in the Chagos Archipelago. ... Victory Bank is an atoll structure in the Chagos Archipelago that is mostly submerged, except for the odd islet or cay. ... Cauvin Bank is an atoll structure in the Chagos Archipelago. ... Pitt Bank is an atoll structure with a few remaining cays in the Chagos Archipelago. ... Ganges Bank is part of the Chagos Archipelago, located southwest of Diego Garcia. ... Wight Bank is an atoll in the southern part of the Chagos Archipelago. ... Centurion Bank is a lergely submerged atoll structure in the Southwest of the Chagos Archipelago. ... Owen Bank is one of the nine atolls of the Chagos Archipelago that is temporarily submerged. ...

Resources

The main natural resources of the area are sugarcane, coconuts, and fish. Species Saccharum arundinaceum Saccharum bengalense Saccharum edule Saccharum officinarum Saccharum procerum Saccharum ravennae Saccharum robustum Saccharum sinense Saccharum spontaneum Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of between 6-37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall grasses (family Poaceae, tribe Andropogoneae), native to warm temperate to tropical regions... Binomial name Cocos nucifera L.. The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera L.), is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family). ... Groups Conodonta Hyperoartia Petromyzontidae (lampreys) Pteraspidomorphi (early jawless fish) Thelodonti Anaspida Cephalaspidomorphi (early jawless fish) Galeaspida Pituriaspida Osteostraci Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) Placodermi Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) Acanthodii Osteichthyes (bony fish) Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish) Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) Actinistia (coelacanths) Dipnoi (lungfish) A fish is a poikilothermic (cold-blooded)* water-dwelling...

Climate

Tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds. Climate is characterised by plenty of sunshine, warm temperatures, showers and light breezes. December through February is considered the rainy season (summer monsoon); typical weather conditions include light west-northwesterly winds and warmer temperatures with more rainfall. June through September is considered the drier season (winter), characterised by moderate south-easterly winds, slightly cooler temperatures and less rainfall. The annual mean rainfall is 2600mm (100 inches), varying from 105mm (4 inches) during August to 350mm (14 inches) during January. Humidity is the quantity of moisture in the air. ... The trade winds are a pattern of wind found in bands around Earths equatorial region. ... In meteorology, precipitation is any kind of water that falls from the sky as part of the weather. ...

History

The islands were discovered by Vasco da Gama in the early sixteenth century, then claimed in the eighteenth century by France as a possession of Mauritius. The United Kingdom gained possession of both Mauritius and the archipelago in 1814, and retained the islands as part of the British Indian Ocean Territory when Mauritius gained independence. Since 1976, the archipelago has been coterminous with the British Indian Ocean Territory, but it is also claimed by Mauritius but not, despite popular belief, the Seychelles. Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama (c. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Although there was no pre-European population, a few hundred people of mostly Indian descent known as the Ilois lived on the islands for several hundred years until they were expelled to Mauritius by the British Government between 1967 and 1973. Ilois (also known as Chagossians) are a group of Creole-speaking people, mostly of Indian descent (also notably from Madagascar, Mauritius, and Mozambique), which dwelled on the Chagos Archipelago for a certain period of time, most having arrived as fisherman, farmers, and coconut plantations workers during the 19th century (some... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ...

Currently, the only habitation is a joint US-UK naval support facility on Diego Garcia. Other uninhabited islands, especially in the Salomon group, are common stopping points for long-distance sailors travelling from Southeast Asia to the Red Sea or the coast of Africa. Cruising may refer to either: Leisurely travel by boat, yacht, or by cruise ship, see cruising (maritime). ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Conshelf II in the Red Sea (Sudan) Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea (Arabic البحر الأحمر Baḥr al-Aḥmar, al-Baḥru l-’Aḥmar; Hebrew ים סוף Yam Suf; Tigrigna ቀይሕ ባሕሪ QeyH baHri) is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent and 3rd most populous. ...

The British Government instituted an investigation into relocating the former islanders to some of the formerly inhabited islands, but concluded that this was impossible due to a lack of fresh water and risk of flooding. This is disputed by the former islanders, who point out that rainfall in the archipelago is among the highest in the world and that the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was reported as causing little damage in the islands. For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... A flood (in Old English flod, a word common to Teutonic languages; compare German Flut, Dutch vloed from the same root as is seen in flow, float) is an overflow of water, an expanse of water submerging land, a deluge. ... The December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami hits Thailand The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, was an undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) on December 26, 2004. ...

Recent High Court rulings have opened the door for these displaced people to return to their land. Although this ruling makes it legal for these people to return, there has been no timetable set for their return, and no concrete plans have been laid out. The investigative journalist John Pilger produced an documentary on the islanders plight in 2004, Stealing a Nation, which won the British Royal Television Society Best Documentary Award 2004. Her Majestys High Court of Justice (known more simply as the High Court) is, together with the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in England and Wales: see Courts of England and Wales. ... The times of public transport services can be presented as follows: For every public transport line there are two tables (one for each direction), consisting of columns, one for each daily public transport service. ... John Pilger John Pilger (born October 9, 1939), is an Australian journalist from Sydney. ... Stealing A Nation is a documentary by journalist filmmaker John Pilger about the Chagos Islanders of Diego Garcia, who were forcibly removed from the island by the British government between 1967 and 1973 to Mauritius, 1,000 miles away, so that the island could be used as an American airbase. ... The Royal Television Society is a British-based society for the discussion, analysis and preservation of television in all its forms, past, present and future. ...

See also

• List of Islands in Chagos Archipelago

List of Islands in Chagos Archipelago ÃŽle Aigle, Eagle Islands Ile Anglaise Ile Anglaise Ile Aux Vaches Ile Boddam ÃŽle Carpate, Egmont Islands (ÃŽle Carre Pate) Ile Charles ÃŽle Cipaye, Egmont Islands Ile De LEst Ile De LEst Ile De LOuest Ile De La Passe Ile De...

External links

• Chagos Conservation Management Plan (PDF)
• Coral Reef Degradation in the Indian Ocean