SEYCHELLES
Geography and Landscape
Geography
The Seychelles (officially: Republic of Seychelles, République des Seychelles, and in Creole Repiblik Sesel) is an archipelago of 115 islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, 4° south of the equator. The Seychelles were formed after the continents split millions of years ago.
Seychelles MapPhoto: Public Domain
The total land area is about 450 km2. The archipelago is spread over an area of 400,000 km2 in the Indian Ocean. The largest island is Mahé and is 152 km2. Praslin is the second largest island with 127 km2. The smallest inhabited island is Aride, only 0.7 km2 in size.
Mahé is about 1600 km from mainland Africa, Madagascar and India. Mauritius is located 1700 south of Mahé. Sailing west from the capital Mahé, one arrives at the border of Tanzania and Kenya. The greatest distance between two islands is between Mahé and Aldabra, 1100 km.
Landscape
The 73 islands on the outer side of the archipelago are made up of coral. The coral islands rise no more than three metres above sea level and are covered with casuarina trees and coconut palms. The 42 islands inside the archipelago are made of granite, which is unique in the world. The granite islands are mountainous and covered with impenetrable jungle. The highest peak is on Mahé and is the Morne Seychellois (905 m). On the island of Silhouette, the highest peak is Mont Dauban (740 m).
Morne Seychellois, highest point of the SeychellesPhoto: Remi Jouan CC 3.0 Unported no changes made
The Aldabra atoll, made up of basalt, limestone and coral, is on UNESCO's World Heritage List, as is the Vallée de Mai on the island of Praslin. Volcanic islands include Cosmoledo, Astove and Assumption.
Sources
Carpin, S. / De Seychellen reisgids
Elmar
Houtzager, D. / Seychellen
Gottmer
Pahlen, C. von der / Seychellen
Deltas
Singh, S. / Mauritius, Réunion & Seychelles
Lonely Planet
Tingay, P. / Seychellen
Van Reemst
CIA - World Factbook
BBC - Country Profiles
Copyright: Team The World of Info