African Banks
| African Banks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Waters | Indian Ocean | |
| Geographical location | 4 ° 53 ′ 0 ″ S , 53 ° 24 ′ 0 ″ E | |
|
||
| length | 4 km | |
| width | 3 km | |
| surface | 10 km² | |
The African Banks are a sandbank group in the north of the Amiranten , which belong to the Outer Islands of the island republic of Seychelles .
geography
The sandbanks extend over 4 km north-south and 3 km east-west and take up a total area of about 10 km². With a shallow coral fringe to the east, the sandbar appears to be an incomplete atoll . In the west, however, the coral ring is 18 to 37 meters deep. The sandbar once had two small areas of land: North Island , 275 m long and 45 to 90 m wide, and South Island , 230 m long and 70 m wide.
While South Island disappeared as early as 1976 due to wave erosion and only a sandstone ridge remained here , which only dries out at low tide, the small North Island is still the northernmost island of the Amiranten. It is only 1.8 miles away from its former neighbor, South Island .
Ten kilometers northwest of North Iceland is a shoal that is dangerous for shipping , the Lady Denison Pender sandbank . In geographical terms, this point marks the northern end of the Amiranten island chain. The closest island is Remire Island , 25 km further south.
history
The origin of the name African Banks is not clear. The islands were discovered in 1797 by Admiral Willaumez as captain of the frigate La Régénérée , who named them Îlots Africains.
Web links
- Brief information with picture ( Memento from November 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- African Banks in the BirdLife Factsheet (English)