Socotra (island)
| Socotra (Suqutrā) | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Waters | Indian Ocean | |
| Archipelago | Socotra | |
| Geographical location | 12 ° 29 ′ N , 53 ° 52 ′ E | |
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| length | 133 km | |
| width | 42 km | |
| surface | 3 579 km² | |
| Highest elevation | Jebel Haggier 1519 m |
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| Residents | 42,442 (2004) 12 inhabitants / km² |
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| main place | Hadibu | |
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Socotra (also Socotra ; Arabic سقطرى Suqutrā , DMG Suquṭrā ) is an island in the north-western Indian Ocean . Geographically, it belongs to the Socotra archipelago of the same nameand politically since 2013 to the newly created Socotra Governorate of the Republic of Yemen .
geography
The island is located at the eastern end of the Gulf of Aden 233 km from the Horn of Africa and 352 km south of the Arabian Peninsula . Socotra is about 133 km long, up to 42 km wide and has an area of 3579 km². Around 42,400 people live on the island, 8,545 of them in the main town of Hadibu (also called Tamrida or Hudaybu ) on the north coast. The island has a tropical, desert and semi-desert climate ( effective climate classification according to Köppen : BWh and BSh ).
nature and landscape
In the narrow coastal areas of the island of Socotra, where shepherds, fishermen and farmers live, frankincense and aloe are grown and cattle ( sheep and goats ) are raised. The highest point on Socotra, the Jabal Haggier, which mainly consists of a barren high plateau, measures 1519 m. However, in the lower regions and on the mountain slopes, the island has an often densely overgrown, pristine and largely endemic flora and fauna . The endemic species include Dendrosicyos socotranus , one of the few tree-shaped cucurbits, and the Socotragimpel ( Rhynchostruthus socotranus ); therefore it was declared a Biosphere Reserve in 2003, along with the other islands in the archipelago . Some parts of the coast are surrounded by dunes, which are among the largest coastal dunes on earth. Socotra is home to the dragon tree species Dracaena cinnabari , a relic of the Cretaceous period , the resin of which is used for the production of natural remedies and incense. Since 2008 the island has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site "Socotra Archipelago" .
- landscape
At the Eastcoast
At the West Coast
On the south coast
The interior of the island
traffic
literature
- Lothar & Heidi Stein: The inhabitants of the island of Socotra . In: Wolfgang Wranik (Ed.): Sokotra: Mensch und Natur , Wiesbaden, 1999, (= Yemen Studies 10).
Web links
- Travel report Socotra , Deutschlandradio , January 6, 2008
- “To the guardian of beauty” , Spiegel Online , January 24, 2007
- Friends of Socotra: u. a. Travel advice (English)
- Opposite John Farrar with numerous photos (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Socotra Archipelago. Retrieved August 20, 2017 .