BRIEF ON ISLANDS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00875R000600030014-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 24
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 10, 2001
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: March 1, 1969
• Content Type: BRIEF

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BRIEF ON ISLANDS
OF THE
INDIAN OCEAN
CtA/BGI PN 60.2361
March 1909
r a~ ~?
GROUP I
Excluded from automatic
downgrading and
declassification
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This document contains information affccting
the national defense of the United Suite,
within the meaning of Title 18, section;; 793
and 794, of the US Code, as amended. Its
transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is
prohibited by law.
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This informal support study presents selected results
of a survey and preliminary analysis of available basic
information concerning islands of the Indian Ocean. Amount
and quality of available information vary significantly
from island to island or island group. Because of this,
and because of the preliminary nature of the ;analysis repre-
sented herein, the study should not be regarded as either
exhaustive or definitive. It is intended, instead, to
serve as a convenient summary base from which more detailed
study of individual islands or island group;; may proceed
as requirements necessitate.
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C(1NT'IiNTS
I. Southern Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
A. Prince Cdward Islands , . . . . . . 2
B. Crozet Islands. . . . . . . . . . , 2
C. Kerguelen Islands . . . . . . . 3
D. Amsterdam 3
E. heard Island and McDonald Islands . 4
II. Western Groff . . . . . . . . . . . . . S
A. Islands Under French Sovereignty. . 5
B. Islands Under British Sovereignty . 7
C. Maur it ins and Dependencies. . . . . 11
I). Islands Near Africa or Madagascar . 13
III. Northern Group. . 14
A. Maldive Islands . . . . 14
B. Laccadive Islands . . 15
C. And,-man and Nicobar Islands 15
D. Coco Islands. . . . . . . . 18
IV. Eastern Section 18
A. Cocos Islands . . . . . . . . . 18
B. Christmas Island. . . . . , . . . 19
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BRIEF ON ISLANDS OF 'TILE INDIAN OCEAN
The Indian Ocean is one o.f the least known oceans
of the world. It has few regularly traveled sea lanes,
and most of its vast reaches contain only a spr'nkling
of tiny islands. The advent of inter,-ontinental air
travel, considerations of international politics, and
the advancement of scientific research have, }.owever,
stimulated new interest in these small land areas in
the ocean. This study inventories briefly the physical
characteristics and current political status of each
island group except the large islands of Madagascar and
Ceylon, both of which are close to continents.*
For case in discussion, the widely scattered island
groups are treated in four sections on the basis of lo-
cation in the Indian Ocean.** They include: 1) a south-
ern tier, mostly south of 40?S, with many common charac-
teristics of terrain and climate, 2) a western group,
mostly north and east of Madagascar, 3) a northern group,
associated with the mainland of South Asia, and 4) an
eastern section, comprising a few isolated islands in
the relatively landless area south of Sumatra and west
of Australia.
I. Southern Tier
Weather is the basic inhibitor of development in
the islands of the south Indian Ocean -- a belt of winds
known as the "roaring 40's." Prevailing winds are west-
erly and strong through the year; they reach an average
velocity of 25 to 31 miles an hour from April through
October and an average of 13 to 31 miles an hour from
December through February. Gales and squalls are com-
mon throughout the year. Although the western coasts of
the islands bear the brunt of the winds, the eastern
coasts are no less dangerous. Winds funneled into nar-
row valleys or rushing down slopes become locally violent,
often reaching speeds of 70 miles an hour or more.
k For a more specialized study of the militar strate is
significance of Indian Ocean islands 25X1A
ee NIS Gazetteer, Indian Ocean Is an s, March 1957
(Unclassified).
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Heavy swells and surf attributable to the persistently
high winds make sea surface conditions In the vicinity
of the islands particularly hazardous. Occasional ice-
bergs near some of the islands compound the danger.
Visibility is generally fair to poor, with clouds often
obscuring all but the lowest portions of the islands.
The island; provide a poop haven for surface ships and
are not well suited to airfield operations.
A. The Prince Edward Islands (46?39'S-46?55'S
37?40'h-37?5S'lT`consist owo .lands, Marion and
Prince Edward, separated by a deep channel 12 miles
wide.* Both islands have rocky surfaces with many vol-
canic cones and lava boulders. Marion is 13 miles long;
by 12 miles wide and reaches a height of 3,890 feet.
Prince Edward is 5 miles long by 4 miles wide and has
a rounded summit 2,370 feet high; rugged cliffs descend
to the shoreline. Both islands arc snow covered in
winter and are boggy when the snow melts. Vegetation
is composed almost entirely of mosses and lichens, with
some edible Kerguelen cabbage. Sea kelp is common in
the waters around the islands. Temporary anchorages
can be taken off the southeastern coasts of both islands at Ship's Cove on Marion and at Cave Bay on Prince Edward.
The Republic of South Africa acquired the islands in 1948
and maintains a weather station at Transvaal Cove on
Marion Island.
B. The Crozet Islands (45?57'S-46?29'S 50?10'E-
52"15'E), a dependency of the Malagasy Republic, comprise
five islands and numerous protruding rocks separated into
western and eastern groups by a channel 42 miles wide.
The western group includes: 1) Hog Island (lie aux
Cochons), a roughly circular island with a maximum dimen-
sion of 8 miles, which has one often snow-covered peak
of about 2,000 feet, 2) the Apostle Islands (flcs des
Apotres), consisting of three islets -- Grande Ile (the
largest, with a maximum length of approximately 2 miles
and widjh of 3 miles and with an altitude of 820 feet),
Petite Ile, and Le Donjon -- and nine pinnacle rocks,
and 3) Penguin Island (Ile des Pingouins), about 2-1/4
miles long by 1-1/4 miles wide, with a height of 492 feet.
Throughout this study, water distances are given in
nautical miles and land distances in statute miles.
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The eastern group includes two islands, which reach
considerably highcr?clcvations and also are snow covered:
Possession Island (Ile de in Possession), 10 miles long
by 5 miles wide, with heights tip to 5,000 feet; and bast
Island (?ie de 1'Est), about 8 miles long by 4 miles wide,
with a maximum altitude of 6,500 feet. All of the islands
are covered with volcanic rock and have abrupt cliffs at
the shoreline. In some of the moist lowlands near the
coast there arc deep bogs. The islands are uninhabited
,
and all except East and Possession Islands are wildlife
preserves. Temporary anchorages can be taken off the
eastern and northeastern coasts of flog, Possession, and
East Islands; however, landings on these islands are
endangered by the generally heavy swell and surf.
C. The Kerguelen Islands (Iles de Kcrguelen)consist
of a large island name erguelen and about 300 smaller
islands within the area of 48?27'S-50?02'S and 68?27'F3-
70?34'E. The main island is about 80 miles long in a
northwest-southeast direction and is almost as wide. Its
extremely irregular shoreline has long fingcrlikc fjords
similar to those of Norway. The terrain is rugged and
mountainous, with a number of peaks at elevations of
3,000 to 6,000 feet. Permanent snowfi.elds in the central
part of the island feed the many prominent glaciers. Nu-
merous good anchorages and several good harbors are avail-
able. In some areas extensive patches of seaweed could
foul propellers and thus constitute a hazard to marine
navigation.
The Kerguelen Islands are administered by France as
part of the Terres Australes et Antarctiques francais.
In the past they have been used mostly by whaling ships
for obtaining fresh water and for doing repairs, but
until recently there were no permanent inhabitants. The
trench maintain a meteorological station at Port-aux-
fran5rais on Kerguelen. Since 1964, a joint program has
been conducted by the Paris Geophysics Institute and the
USSR Academy of Sciences Institute of Geophysics for
recording geomagnetic observations from Kerguelen and
from its conjugate point, Sogra, in Arkhangelsk Oblast',
USSR.
D. Amsterdam (37?54'S 77?32'E) and Saint Paul
(38?43'S T73 TES- Islands, like the Kerguelen islands
about 700 miles to the southwest, are parts of the French
Terres Australes et Antarctiques francais. Both islands
are wildlife sanctuaries, and their only permanent inhab-
itants are the staff of the meteorological station on
Amsterdam.
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Amsterdam Island is approximately 5-1/2 miles long
by 4 miles wide. Its shoreline is marked in most places
by precipitous slopes and almost inaccessible cliffs.
The highest point on the island is close to 3,000 feet
and is ordinarily shrouded by clouds or mist. There are
no natural harbors, and anchorafres arc available only
temporarily, dependent on the vagaries of the weather.
Saint Paul Island, 48 miles to the south, is smaller
-- about 2-3/4 miles from northwest to southeast and 1-1/2
miles across at its broadest point. A major part of the
island consists of the crater of an extinct volcano, the
rim of which rises to a height of 890 feet. An opening
in the northeastern part of the rim has created a pas-
sageway 100 yards wide that crosses over a bar with depths
of 6-1/2 feet at high water into an inner basin with a
diameter of approximately 1,250 yards. Depths in the
basin are about 31 fathoms. Winds from the southwest
may descend the crater sides wit}' 'rent force and generate
severe squalls within the basin. lualls from the south-
east also, although rare, make the basin an unsafe an-
chorage.
E. Heard Island (53?10'S 74?35'E) and McDonald
Islands (53'1019 ^7~?35'E), 225 miles southea-st of Kerguelen,
are administered as an Australian territory. Between 1947
and 1955 Australia conducted meteorological investigations
on Heard Island. The islands have since been visited by
occasional Australian scientific expeditions, but they are
not permanently inhabited.
Heard Island is about 23 miles long in a northwest-
southeast direction and 10 miles across at the widest point.
It is dominated by a volcanic cone 9,007 feet high that
showed signs of activity as recently as 1950. Large
glaciers descend from high parts of the island, in places
to the water's edge. There are no safe harbors or an-
chorages.
The McDonald Islands, a group of four small islands
and some outlying rocks, lie about 23 miles west of Heard
Island. Although maximum elevations are only 600 feet,
the islands arc fairly rugged and rocky. Precipitous
slopes present poor landing conditions from the sea.
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11. Western Grout
The numerous small islands north and cast of
Madagascar are grouped as follows: the French Comoro
Islay ds, Reunion. Europa, Juan do Nova, I lc TromeIi.n,
and Iles Gloricuses; the British Seychelles and the
Bi itish Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) ; the independent
country of Mauritius and its dependencies; and islands
near Africa or Madagascar. The weather on these is-
lands is similar. From May through October -- the
dry season -- the islands are subject to the southern
monsoon. From November through April the ,winds are
reversed, bringing the very hot, rainy season, or
northeast monsoon, with frequent storms. Rainfall
varies widely according to elevation and topography,
from an annual average of 43 inches on Dzaoudzi, in
the Comoros, to an average of 123 inches in parts of
Mauritius. Reunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues (the
Mascarene Islands) lie in a tropical cyclone belt and
have been devastated by typhoons on several occasions.
A. Jslands Under French Sovereignty
1. The Comoros (11?21'S-12?40'S 43?18'E-
45?10'E) are mountainous and of volcanic origin. The
largest islands are Grande Comore, 35 miles long and
14 miles at its broadest point; Anjouan, triangular
shaped, 16-1/2 by 22-3/4 by 19 miles; Mayotte, about
21 by 8 miles; and Moheli, 16-1/2 by 10 miles. With-
in the extensive reef that surrounds Mayotte are two
smaller islands -- Zamburu and Pamanzi. The islands
are well wooded and have fertile, cultivated coastal
plains and lower slopes. There are many swift streams
suitable for the development of hydroelectric power.
The highest peak is a volcano on Grande Comore,
Mount KarLula, elevation 7,874 feet, which last
erupted in 1918. Coastlines of the islands are
irregular, with many small coves and inlets. There
are no ports in the Comoros, but year-round anchorage
can be taken within the reef off Mayotte. The
little shelter provided by other anchorages varies
with the season and prevailing wind direction.
Dzaoudzi airfield on Pamanzi has 4,520- and 4,420-foot
runways and is a regular Air France stop. There are
gravel-surfaced airfields on Grande Comore, Anjouan,
and Moheli and a seaplane station off Pamanzi.
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The population is about 256',000, almost
all Muslims of Bantu and Arab origin. (;rands Comore
is the most populous island, and its caa.p.ital, Moroni,
is the largest town and the commercial center of the
Comoros. There is little economic development on
the islands. The people are mostly unskilled agricul-
tural workers. Plantation crops of sugar, vanilla,
copra, and sisal and pe:iumc oils are the principal
exports.
In mid-.March 1968, agents of the exiled
National Liberation Movement of the Comoros (MOLINACO),
with headquarters in Tanzania, led disturbances in
Moroni; these were later quelled by a French pa.atroop
company from the base at Diego Suarez, Malagasy.
Local support for independence, however, does not
appear to be strong.
2. Reunion (21?00'S 55?40'H) is a
volcanic island wi1 ve'ry rugged, regular' coasts
that rise abruptly to an inland tableland and a
central 10,000-foot dividing axis, topped by the
Piton des Neiges. The island is oval, about 44 miles
long and 32 miles wide at its broadest part. There
are no natural harbors, as the shore is nearly every-
where steep-to, and with two exceptions oceangoing
vessels anchor in open roadsteads. An artificial
harbor at Port des Galets provides unloading fa??
cilities for deep-draft vessels, and a second arti-
ficial harbor for ships drawing less than 12 feet
is located at Saint Pierre.
Reunion had about 400,000 inhabitants in
1967, mostly farmers and fishermen of Indian, Negro,
and Chinese extraction. Saint Denis, the capital,.
had a population of about 63,000. Four miles cast
of Saint Denis is the fully operative 6,119-foot
Gillot airfield, served by Air France three timer
a week. There is a smaller, irregularly maintained
airstrip at La Possession, 8-1/2 miles west of
Saint Denis. The island has 556 miles of bituminous-
surfaced roads, including a well-maintained highway
that connects the coastal towns.
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A small Reunion independence movement is
headquartered in Tanzania but receives little local
support.
3. Europa (22?21'S 40?21'11), Juan do Nova
(17?03'S 42044'1), Tl.e Tromclin (15053's 5 ?IPT)
and the 'fi'les Glorieusc- _*CIT'3d-r5 450131H) are four
minor isohtecl+island or island groups. Europa is a
low, sandy, coral. island, nearly circular and 3-3/4
miles across at its widest point. Bushes and scattered
trees cover most of the island. It is a breeding
ground for the green sea turtl Juan do Nova, a flat,
tree-covered island, nearly 3 miles long and 1 mile
wide, is a guano-collecting station. Ile Tromelin,
about 1 mile long and 800 yards wide, is a sand and
coral island covered with low bushes. ?lc Glorieuse,
along with an islet and several rocks above water,
rises from a drying reef 9 miles long and 2 miles
wide. It has a small settlement that produces copra.
Anchorages can be taken oft all of these islands, but
currents are dangerous. All have unmaint.ainecl air-
strips of 1950 vintage. There arc meteorological
stations on Europa and ,Ile Tromclin.
B. Islands Under British Sovereignty
1. The Seychelles (3?40'S-10?06'S 46?31'E-
56?00'E) consist T a Bout 100 islands scattered over
125,000 square miles of ocean. Their total land
area is approximately 144 square nmil.es. Only four
of the islands -- Mahe, Praslin, Silhouette, and
La Digue -- exceed 2 square miles in size. These
four, along with about 2 dozen nearby islands and
islets, comprise the grar;tic Seychelles and have
the largest population. The remaining islands arc
formed of calcareous material, arc very low, and
are sparsely inhabited. For discussion purposes
these coral islands are divided into two groups --
1) the Amirante Bank and 2) numerous southern
islands.
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The main island in the Seychelles is Mahe,
in about the center of the Seychelles Bank. It 17.--
irregularly shaped, about 16 miles long arid slightly
more than 5 miles wide. Mahe rises abruptly from a
narrow coastal strip to a range of mountains 2,900
feet high. Relief is rugged, characterized by deep
ravines and rock outcrops interspersed with densely
wooded or intensively cultivated patches. Palms,
shrubs, and tree ferns grow luxuriantly amid tangled
undergrowth in the dense tropical forest. Mahe has
a population of 33,500, 75 percent of the total
population of the Seychelles. The main occupations
are agriculture and fishing. Various crops are
grown, but most of the agricultural land is in
coconuts. Copra accounts for about 70 percent of
the total exports, in value; other exports arc
cinnamon leaf oil, cinnamon bark oil, patchouli
oil, and vanilla. Agricultural experiments are
carried out on six government-owned estates. Mahe
has two transisland asphalt roads and one coastal
road. The only developed port in the Seychelles
is port Victoria on Mahe, capital of the islands;
anchorages off the other islands are poor. By 1970
there should be a usable international airport on
a filled coral reef near Mahe. The United States
has maintained a satellite tracking station on Mahe
since 1963.
Praslin, 7 miles long by 3 miles wide,
Silhouette, 3.3 miles long by 2.5 miles wide, and
La - I1igue, 3 miles long by 2 miles wide, lie within
about 30 miles of Mah F and have the same type of
relief and vegetation. They have populations of
about 4,000, 800, and 1,850, respectively. Praslin
is ioteworthy for its famous Vallee do Mai, the only
place in the world where cocos de mer (sea coconuts)
grow in their natural state. All three islands can
be reached from Mahe by ferry. Transportation on
the islands is by foot or bicycle.
The Amirante Bank comprises about 15
coconut palm-coveredi ets and numerous protruding
rocks. Navigation over the bank is not recommended,
because of coral patches, shoal areas, strong and
variable currents, and poor anchorages. None of the
islands exceed 20 feet in elevation. The population
of about 276 people work th:; coconut plantations
on the African Islets, D'Arros, Poivre Islets, and
Alphonse Atoll.
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Coct ivy, en!-,t of the Arnl rante clank, in n low
island wit.l cverai sandhills and a fringing, coral reef.
A group of 210 poop 1 r bec,. b rough t: to the wc,;tern
end of the i~;land from the granitic. Seychelles to work
the coconut plantatio,ts.
In the south the Seychelles include several
i,olated islands, Islets, islet groups, and atolls.
Assumption is a d eply eroded, yot.rrd-shaped island of
soriiew~tat over 1 square mile. In 1960 there ware 31
people on the island employed as fishermen and 1,unno
digfcrs. Astoye Is a low, sandy, hush- covered atoll.
At the western end is a settlement of SO people who
fish or work the guano clcpo5 I t s . Twelve well -eroded
islets make tip in atoll known as the Cosmoledo t;rotli;
the largest is Menni, which has a ridyr of riiii1WiT1
and 60-foot mangroves. To the rust, Providence Reef
risen steeply from the ocean depth!;. -TC"is"'-rilictit --
24 miles long and ( mi to s wide and includes a number
of small sand key, and banks. Two islands at either
extremity of the reef were recently formed from a group
of keys. They are planted with coconut palms but are
not permanently inhabited. About 19 rr,il s ;rest-southwest
of Providence Reef is Saint Pierre, a circular island of
about 360 acres. As .a rc ult of constant sea swell, it
is bordered with undercut cliffs 8 to 10 feet high. It
has extensive guano quarries and was inhabited by 45
people in 1960. Anchorages off all the southern islands
arc poor and can be taken only under good weather con-
ditions.
2. The British Indian Ocean Territory (13I0T)
consists of the cTi o rclii ic~Iiago ?;=u7 39 'S
70?50'1i-72?47'ti), Aldabra (09?2S'S 46?25'ti), Ile
Desroches (OS?45'S 53?45'E), and the Farquhar Atoll
(10?08'S S1?11'E). Formerly these islands were ad-
ministered from Mauritius. In Novct,lbtr 1965, however,
anticipating Mauritian indcpendenc: iii March 1968, the
islands wcrc rcorgani:cd as a depcdIent territory of
the United Kingdom, administered from London. At the
time NOT was established,-ill of the islands were under
consideration by the United Kingdom and the United
States as sites for naval and/or airfield installations.
The Chagos Archipelago consists of a huge
shoal area, a nurmbe of sma atolls, and some scattered
reefs. It is an extension of the underwater plateau
that surfaces to the north in the Maldive and Laccadive
Islands. Largely ignored for centuries, the islands'
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location in rclatiott to Asa has Incrca-;rd their strategic
value enormously. The i l t t i t e d Statc-; i n constructing a
naval bane on Virgo (;arcia, the snuthet?ntno:.t atoll of the
archlpeIago. This base when comple.t:.'d will he a major
conmunicar.iott- station and will provide drrhwatcr anchorage
for the largent naval vessels, a r.tagint: area, refueling
and repair facilit:Ie, anti a rent a(t:i recreation sItr for
the Navy. A large protected anchorage within the lagoon
of I)i.cgo Carcia is the only good harbor in the Charon.
This atoll is V-shaped, with each side approximately 13
miles long and with a breadth at the top of the V of about
8-1/2 mile:;. Three islands across the mouth of the v
provide a breakwater for the inner lagoon. The land area
of Diego Garcia varies in width from a few yards to 1-1/4
miles.
Several of the other atolls in the Chagos :ire
also inhabited, mait.ly by worker-, brought in ncvet?al
generations ago to work on caconut plantations. The ntolI -
arc privately owned, and supplies and occasion:ll mail come
from Mauritius. All of the islands are coral ba-ed and
low -- 3 to S feet above sea level, with occasional ri.e,.
to 10 or :2 feet. Landing- on most of thc,,:;toll. are dif-
ficult. Thee'` are usable anchorages neor'lle Takamaka in
the Sal onion Islands, off flc du Coi(t and 1 lc IFoucluct, in
the. Peron ilanhos Islands, and near lIe Luhinc in the Egmont
Islands.
Aldabra is. composed of four islands -- Wert.
Mid(I le, 11o ymnic, and South -- enclosing a shallow SO-
square-mile lagoon that contains a number of i.lctr.
Maximum extent of the atoll is 19 miles cast-went and
7-1/2 miles north-south. The island:; arc low lying and
flat, made up of coral formations eroded and undermined
into 12- to 15-foot cliffs and iagVed pinnacles. They
arc covered with thick jungle and mangrove swamps and
have no permanent inhabitants, although a settlement it.
the western end of West Island has a rotating; population
of about 100 Seyehcllois fishermen. Anchorage is avail-
able in Main Channel, but the holding ground is i--)or. A
small landing beach exists near the settlement on West
Island. The British planned to construct 112,000-foot
runway and throughput station at the eastern end of South
Island but scrapped these plans in December 19()7 as part
of an overall decision to retrench their positions in
South Asia and the Far East. Before construction plans
were abandoned, outspoken opposition by naturalists to
development on the island received much publicity, par-
ticularly in British publications. Aldabra is considered
to be a unique example of a coral island with species of
marine life and hirdlife urtouched by man.
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,,-I,- t: tz i.^.1.
h
lie I)cssroncr : i= :a Iow, flat. iIaii i that rises
from the .'_Outli~ a_.tcrti port ion of ra nearly ci rr:ular atoI I
ahotat 10 n,i Ir!-, in dlam('tc'r. A dreg channel 10 mi Irs wide
se1)ar:4tc,: the atoll 'rom the va-4rr'n edge of the Amirante
11aIs k. '''.hr itattrr lag on appear: to be free of coral l 'nd
It range; from 10 to 17 fathorn:. In depth and I^ ar'c's::ldalr
from the northwest by a mi lc-wide channrl :+lth mini ritin
depths of 11) fathoms making; it :a pos 1b1e aItrrttatr to
Diego G.?arcia for harbor development. The approximately
I:0 inhabitant . make tfir ir II vine; by IIkitip aii d caalti -
Vatin; cocottaat:,. Thr island is owned by a private citi:rn
living, on Mahe' in the `;cychellr...
'The Farpih_:;rc conist. of North, ';out.h, ?ancd t;oelrttr
Islan!le, the t1irc:r 1_ 1ets: of ~tanaha, and Troi s lies, all
locat.cd on Farquhar Atoll 'ihe atoll In I1-l/c, nilr'. long
and has a maximum width of 0-1/2 ml lr :. The inner Iagoon
is shallow, and the passage into it is shallow (minimum
depth 3-l/2 fathoms) and dangerous:,. Anchorage i avail-
able off thr entrance to I, lie channel near the northwestern
tip of North Inland. Most of the Island have an eIrvation
of about 10 feet; however, North and `.i(its tl: Island. have
sand dune. 40 and 7c feet high, respectively. In l0uc there
was a ;.otal population of 187, mostly on ;north Island, that
war, engaged in cocont't cultivation and fishing.
C. '*taur i t i us and tarp .. ncirnc i c
Mauritiurt (2()?.'8'ti S7?;35'1:), formerly called ile
do France, ir: ~'ci anic in origin and goit er:ally oval in
shape, with a length north to south of 3.i mi lc s and a
maximum width cast to west of 24 mile:. In the north, a
flat plant rise. gently to a central plateau; elsewhere
the ascent is steep from a narrow coastal plain. The
three main rock-peaked mountain ranges reach heights of
2,700 feet. Several lakes have formed in the crates of
extinct volcanoes.. A few short river. flow from the
highlands, some of which are used to generate hyd_?oclectric
power.
Mauritius i overpopulated, overcultivated, and
racially explosive. It has a rapidly increasing population
of 800,000 of which 51 percent are Hindi-Indians, 25 per-
cent Creoles (African), Ib percent Muslin-Indians, 3.5
percent Chinese, and 1.S percent Franco-Mauritians of
white extraction. Rioting broke out between the Muslim
and Creole communities just before Mauritius acquired its
independence from frcat Britain and again within a month
later. The country is now dependent upon the British for
its economic and military needs. Sugar comprises 98 per-
cent of the exports and has been purchased by Great Britain
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nt att i f is i:l1 jv 111 VII ur;r^,, Almn,t 111 ()( thr :it:ahlr
Inttd i, a1traiIy cuitivatrd, rnc?tly with ugarc'anr, 'du
exploit ,Ili lr mineral ; have brrn fntund, :tnd tilrrr 1 I II t.ie
fi-itit;t, In I9(' thr ttnrrit In,yrrrnt rate was 40 pctcrit
t.
On the not thwr tr111 c't I' t hr Pond host and
ca1)itai city of Port 1,o11 i with a 1')r,(, pol,nlntjon of
l.~,f,l(1(1 1hrrr arc four othrr goad .1 ;rd (:Mr-: lfo:r.
IiiII-it ea It lia:iti , with 0 h,11(11) prn1)1r (;ttrrl)ii)r, with
47 000, Vacoa?, - Phorni x , with 44, 700 : nd Ou;it re Itorttr ,
with 37,1.(10, Thr cities are cnnncctrd by a good S4t(-mi lr
highway .y trtr through (;urep ipr to thr intrI'll at jonaI ai r-
port at I'laisanrc,
RodriFtIr:; (1!1?47'S 7'1;), :1}~alrga 1.iand:
1i-1j and (:;Irf`a.1t~'. -C:Ir:I jn' Ili();11, (1(tn
arr dcprit clvnc'of
aboltt 3"O mi lc : ca ;t of !iauri t iu',. 1 t rxtcnci': 10
=
mile. in an r.a t -northc'a t o ,iuth-~,out.hwe..t direct ion
and i. about 4- 3/4 Ini Ir : wide at i t:: broadest part . The
island ha. Iittic flat ground, being a ingic 1,30(1-font
basaItic mountain. It is fringcc) by off:hnrc cora I reef.
breached with t.wc, pa..a(~ctway::, the deeper of which lead:
to the partially protected .maII port and main town of
Port Mathttrin, where there i s major air faci I i ty.
Rodr:gue.;, whoe 1?1,5(10 inhabit.ltnt:< arc mainly of ,African
extraction, op;)ned independence and would pr-fcr Frcnch
.'t sociation,
The ,1ga lega Islands consist of North and South
Island:: -joined by a :and ridge, which together are about
10.1/2 mile,, Ions. ,Anchorage and landing are difficult
becalr.c of tl:c very steep beach--!?c hordered by sleep coral
reefs. The island, have a coconut palm cover, the main
source of the copra for Mauritius' edible oil inelu.~rv,
and occasional patches of dense r'anioc th-ckets. There
are also the remains of casuarinc plantations, made un-
economical by typhoon damage. In 1064 the population
was 371.
The CarF.ados-Carajos Shoals. commonly called
Saint Brandon, comprise an extensive group of reef,,
shoals, and islets, many of the last of which are sub-
merged in heavy weather. Some of the islets have a
cover of low bushes and coarse grass, with an occasional
palm or casu..rina tree. Land is insufficient for an air,
strip, and the only anchorage is off Tic Raphael, which
has a meteorological station. A few fishermen are the
only inhabitants.
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11. 1 :la,'tsar AfI i ,I or ,'la~1a1 a:r ar
or vrn i ati pk or Island f.tnul,~ -- i)ar, i'rriha,
Ma(Ia, thr 1la,.araatn-, iaitttr 'larir, :inrr~tra, and the )ntIa
Marna island: arr trchnir-al IV Ind i,III ()(- ran I lan,; - , 1)
ut
hrc'au sr of thri r I,rnxi~,ity to tlar r ainIan,I of At i ica or
Madaga:c?at thr v arr d i : c a r d on I y Ihr irfl
7canx1har (00"00'.-i and I'rnh" (0'i'011'';
3913011,) arr, c In.r to the African r,. nI and ati,1 arr integral
parts of 1ati to ii ia. Zan; ihar i s (0,10 square mi its in rxtc' t ,attd
Pr mba, 3A0 srl1iarr mi lr heath arr i I Iv and hi vr lttxurinnt
natural vrl;rtation. I'll ry arr well a we for ihrir pro-
duction of dotes, which corgprI sr 7`, petcent of their cx-
port,.. another Z1) prrcrrtt of their export-
ct,tr,r: from
coconut prodatet s . '1 hr re arr ;rvr ra I good .1.1c11 o ' iges on
the writ si?ir s of hoth i Nand:, particularly at the port of
Lart; ihar and at (;haY. i Chal, i harbor on Vet-.1b a. A .1,8tltl- foot
airfirld i^ located at. l.an;.iirar.
Mafia ((18"00':; 391"30'1,) is a wel l.WW'ctodrd i .l:anrl,
170 sriuare rillrs in aria, owned by Tanzania and located
off it!-, crnrral co:ast. The island has a low coast and a
central rocky platrant between 7/00 and I,nct0 feet high.
The cast coast is a hrol.en cliff wall with fringing reef;.
The inland has a sma 1 1 iIan to fishing, poptt I a t i nn, and the
littlc town of gi1indorti in the south has minor port fa-
cilities. Peep-seaa fishing off the southern coast is ex-
cclicnt; it is control led by the Mafia I :land Fishing
Club, which has :a sr':uII inn and a tarr.iac airstrip on the
island. In 199 the population of 'Mafia was about 0,000.
The ilazarttto Islands (21?.10 35?30'i.) include
four well-wooccel"~.:3aticls-=`-~;+.czine, 1cnetieraa, Ila:aruto
and Carolina -- owned by ',Ioz:unhirl,tc and located off its
coast. Xczinc and Ilengucrua are on drying sandbanks,
which make access difficult. Ilengttvrua has a small vil-
lage. Ilazaruto, 18 miles long, is tt.c largest of the
islands, with anchorage available at its northeastern
end. A few Portuguese troop5 are stationed at Sofala,
on Carolina, which is famous for its pearl fisheries.
Ile Sainte Marie (17?01'S 49?SU'Ii) is a thickly
wooded isoic o'fthe northeastern coast of the Malagasy
Republic and under Malagasy sovereignty. Protruding rocks
in the vicinity of the island make approach and anchorage
unsafe, particularly in bad weather. There is a small
port at Ambodifototra.
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;oCe-t.ra, off the horn of Africa (17"30'N 54?00'ii)1
of `;oath Yemen. I t con:; i t; of the main
island, 80 mile:; long by 20 miles wide, and three :stall,
very rugged, barren i .land:. or island groups to the south-
west.-- The 11tothers, Jazirat gar:;a and ,Ja-irat. Samba, and
Abel al-Kura. Socotra has a deeply di:?.vctvd 1inr.:;tonc
plateau that fal i s in steep scarp:; to the sea. The rug-
ged granitic peaks of the iiaggiat Mountains rise to 5,000
feet. Vegetation i s of sparse desert variety c,:crept for
the densv bush- and scrub-covered mountain: in the north-
central part of the island. The people, numbering roughly
12,000, are primitive herders and fishermen. Socotra ex-
port:; small quantities of dates, v:triou:; gums, and ghce.
Iladiho, on the northern coast, is the principal village.
Anchorage:; can be taken off Iladibo and other places along
the northern coast from 1cbruary to May; at all o:her
time!-- the island is expo:;ed to heavy mon .oon rains and
strong winds. Approaches are difficult because of sub-
merged or partially submerged rocks and coral patches.
There are graded and compacted sandy cart Ii airstrips
near lladibo and 10 miles west of Iiadibo at Has Karma.
The Kuria Muria island; (17?30'N-17?35'N 56?00'E)
arc a gro-.lp oT"f?ivc srn.~1`r`~rky,' desolate island, (As St'dah,
liar, ki, ,Jazirat ilaIlaniya, Jazi,rat KabIiya, and Kirzwct
Islet) owned by the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman and valued
primarily for their guano deposits. Because of submerged
rocks, approaches to the islands and anchorages are ha-
Zardotts .
I Northern Group
A. The Maldive Islands are due north of the Chagos
Archipelago; only about 300 miles separates the new base
at Diego Garcia from the British .airbase at Can on the
southernmost atoll in the Maldives. The Maldives are a
group of 12 atolls scattered over a large area of the
Indian Ocean at 07?06'N-0?42'S 72?30'E-73?45'h. They
comprise over 2,000 islands, many of them too s..,.tll to
be useful and many others awash at high tide. Most of
the atolls consist of a narrow strip of land no more
than 3 to 5 feet above sea level encircling a central
lagoon. Many of the la,oons afford anchorages for
shallow-draft vessels, ut there are no good natural
harbors in the Maldives. Few of the islands are wide
enough to accommodate airfields. Only 22:) islands arc
inhabited. Mal6 Atoll has a population of 11,000; the
remaining 86,000 inhabitants are scattered throughout
the archipelago. The islands gained their independence
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from Great Britain in July 1965 and were governed I.
a
constitutional monarchy until November 1968, when the
small nation elected to become a republic. It is a
poor country. The only export i.; dried fish, which is
shipped to Ceylon. Rice, the staple food in the islands
cannot he grown successfully in quantity on the porous
coralline soils. Formerly it was imported from Ceylon, but now
It comes from Burma's dwindling surplus. Most of the
few concessions to modernity are on Male. Almost all
the rest of the islands lead an age-old primitive
existence; the one exception is Addu, on which Can,
the big British airbase, is located. The British have
a lease on Addu which expires in 1981.. By treaty Can
is restricted to British use in defense of the Common-
wcal.th. L'xccpt for the modern jet field at Can, the
only airstrip in the Maldives is on the island of liululc
on Male Atoll.
B. The Indian-owned Laccadive Islands are north
of the Maldives off the western coast of India between
08?15'N-12?25'N and 71?40'11-73?45'1-1. They consist of
14 atolls in two groups, four in a northern tier col-
lectively called the Amindivi Islands and the remainder
in a southern group referred to as the Cannanores.
Included with the latter is Minicoy Island, which io,
separated from the main group by a navigable channel.
The land area of the Laccadives is only 12 square miles;
Agatti, the largest island with an anchorage, is 3 miles
long and 1/2 mile wide. Most of the atolls have lagoons
within harrier reefs that open toward the west, and the
land is usually located on the eastern side of the atoll.
The seaward sides of the reefs are generally steep-to
with limited usable areas shallow enough to function
as anchorages. There are no good natural harbors in
the Laccadives. Moreover, during the southwest monsoon
(June through September) heavy surf effectively cuts
off navigation between the i '.ands and the Indian main-
land. Anchorages are not cc.sidered safe during this
period. Suitable sites for the construction of air-
fields exist on the west side of Androth Island, the
south side of Chetlat Island, and the southeastern
side of Ketlan Island. All these islands also have
anchorages. 0
C. The Indian-owned Andaman and Nicobar Islands
form an archipelago in the Bay of B ne gal that stretches
from North Andaman Island (13?35'N 92?02'E), 165 miles
south of the delta of the Irawaddy River, to Great
Nicobar (06?35'N 93?45'E), about 145 miles from the
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southern tip of Sumatra. Ten i)cgrec Channel, a tur-
bulent stretch or water 75 miles wide between the
Andaman Islands ,nd the Nicobar Islands, is a greater
physical barrier than its breadth would indicate, and
cultural development of the two island groups has dif-
fered.
The Andaman Islands consist of a clustered chain
of 204 islands, the five largest of which are separated
by such narrow, winding passages that they appear to he
one contiguous landmass. Total land area is 2,461 square
miles. The terrain is hilly and covered with dense
tropical rain forest. There are a number of usable ports
and anchorages along the more sheltered cast coast, in-
cluding the fine natural harbor at Port Blair near the
southeastern part of South Andaman Island, where the
Indian Navy is developing a base. Before the establish-
ment in the 19th century of a penal colony by the British
at Port Blair, mainly for recalcitrant political prisoners,
the Andamans were inhabited by a few hostile aboriginal
tribes. At the end of World War II, when operation of the
prison camp ceased, the population consisted mostly of
parolees of various castes and faiths from diverse r. ions
of India. In spite of the religious and linguistic mix-
ture and unlike the mainland, the islands have been rel-
atively free of communal disturbances. In recent years
large numbers of Bengalis from overcrowded districts
near Calcutta have been resettled in the Andamans. The
stated purpose was to take advantage of the Bengali
knowledge of rice cultivation in order to make the island
self-sufficient in food production. Currently, there arc
also plans to establish a colony for Indian Tamil repa-
triates from Ceylon. The mainstay of the economy at pre-
sent is the exploitation of timber resources. The largest
lumber mill in the Indian Union is located at Pert Blair.
Most of the population in the islands is concentrated in
and around Port Blair; other settlements are chiefly in
isolated coastal locations. During World War II the
Japanese built an airfield at Port Blair, but terrain
obstacles make landing and takeoff hazardous, so its
use is restricted to occasional commercial flights. Indian
civil aviation experts reportedly visited Port Blair
recently and have approved a site for the construction of
a jet field about 13 miles from Port Blair.
The native population of the Nicobars is more
closely akin to the Burman-Khmer groups of Southeast Asia.
Car Nicobar, the northernmost of the Nicobar Islands, is
the most densely populated and is reaching the point of
population saturation (about 10,000). While contact of
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the native:, with more advanced civilizations has not
alw.ivs been ha
the Indians
ave done a reasonably good jot) o protecting the
native culture from ovcrexploitation. The native
economy is based on the coconut; the nut is used ar
food, medium of exchange ithe national debt is mea-
sured in coconuts), fiber for cloth, and forage for
pigs, as well as for innumerable other purposes.
There is no scarcity of coconuts, which grow in
everyone's backyard. Car Nicobar is roughly circular,
8 miles long and 7 miles wide, and relatively flat --
an ideal stationary "flat-top." A jet airfield is
maintained by thr Indian Air Force near the southern
part of the island. The British Royal Air Force has
user rights, a~acl Car Nicobar is a refueling stop on
flights from Can to Singapore. The superb airfield
site is not matched by similar facilities for ships.
There are no harbors, and off-loading is accomplished
by lighters.
The other 18 islands of the Nicobars Care less
densely populated; in fact some of the islands are
underpopulated (Great Nicobar) or uninhabited. There
are a nur'ther of usable anchorages in these islands and
a very good harbor at Nancowry. This all-weather har-
bor is formed by the southern shore of the island of
Comorta and the northern shore of the island of Nancowry,
with safe entrances to the cast and the west during
either monsoon. The harbor can be extensively developed
and is an alternate for Port Blair. Neither Comorta
(14 miles long north to south by 3-1/2 miles wide) nor
Nancowry (6-1/2 miles long north to south by 4-1/2 miles
wide) has very high elevations (highest point, 720 feet,
on southern Comorta), but both are'hilly. The popula-
tions are small -- 795 on Comorta and 539 on Nancowry.
Both the Andamans and the Nicobars fall within
India's concept of the "Inner Line" and are classified
as restricted areas from which foreign nationals are
generally excluded. Even Indian citizens do not enjoy
freedom of movement; they need a landing permit, which
is not easy to obtain.. The Indians are particularly
sensitive to incursions of Malay fishing boats in the
Nicobars and the appearances of itinerant Chinese
peddlers.
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P. The Coco Islands (14?11'N 93?23'1;) are 21-1/2
miles north o7'` ~lt`c~i n fam ns and geologically are part of
the same island group. Prcjris is a small, island, 43
miles north of the Coco YJ ands and separated from them
by a navigable channel. Both the Coco Islands and
Preparis are parts of Burma. The Coco group consists
of Great Coco, Table Island, Little Island, Mid two
lesser islets, with a total land area of 14 square miles.
Great Coco, the largest of the group, is 5-3/4 miles
long from north to south, is wooded (mainly coconut
palms), has an airstrip, and has an anchorage on the
eastern side of the island. There is a permanent
population of ,about 390 that probably has been augmented
during the past year by the resettlement of Burmese
repatriates from the Andamans. These islands have no
good harbors and few adequate anchorages. Furthermore,
strong tidal currents, reefs, and shoals make navigation
hazardous.
IV. Eastern Section
A. The Cocos Islands consist of two atolls,
South Keeling and North eeling, located in the eastern
part of the Indian Ocean, south of Sumatra, at 12?04'S-
12?13'S 96?49'E-96?57'E, and separated by a channel
15 miles wide. The two atolls include 27 small coral
islands with a total land area of 5-1/2 square miles.
Politically, they are a territory administered since
1955 by the Commonwealth of Australia.
Only two of the islands, Home and Direction, both
within the South Keeling Atoll, are permanently inhabited.
The total population as of 1965 was 674. Coconut plan-
tations and the production of copra employ most of the
working force in the islands. The location of the
islands makes them of considerable strategic importance.
An international jet field under the control of the
Commonwealth Department of Civil Aviation occupies most
of West Island and serves as a refueling stop for weekly
flights between South Africa and Australia. The inner
lagoon of South Keeling is navigable by shallow-draft
boats. Anchorages in the outer harbor, however, can
accommodate vessels with drafts up to 25 feet. Exposures
to wind and sea conditions arc such that development of
an all-weather harbor probably is not feasible.
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North Keeling consists of a strip of coral 100
to 400 yards wide enclosing a central lagoon. The
lagoon is open to the sea, but the entrance is not
navigable. North Keeling lacks a safe anchorage, and
heavy surf makes landing on the island risky at times.
B. Christmas Island (10?25'S 105?45'Eh),* ad-
ministcrcTbyustriisince 1958, is an irregularly
shaped piece of land about 12 miles long and 4-1/2 to
10 miles wide, with an area of 32 square miles. It
is densely wooded and hilly. The shoreline is backed
by a continuous cliff 10 to 150 feet high, which is
breached in only a few places -- chiefly at flying
Fish Cove, the only port or anchorage on the island.
It i.% not an all-weather harbor. There is no protection
against the heavy swells that roll toward the island
from November through January, and the port is frequently
closed to shipping during that period. The economy of
the island is based entirely on the mining of phosphate
of lime, which is managed by the British Phosphate Com-
mission. Product; .on is shipped mainly to Fremantle and
other Australian ports. The estimated population in
1965 was 3,332, mostly people of Asian extraction, with
a few resident Australians employed by the mining cor-
poration.
* Not to be confused with the island of the same name
in the Line Islands, Pacific Ocean.
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