HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Banc du Geyser (also Banc du Geysir) is a mostly submerged
reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...
in the
Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about lon ...
's northeastern part, northeast from
Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loca ...
, southwest of the
Glorioso Islands The Glorieuses or Glorioso Islands (french: Îles Glorieuses or officially also ) are a group of French islands and rocks totaling . They are controlled by France as part of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean in the French Southern and A ...
, and off the northwestern coast of
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
.


Description

The Banc is a dangerous oval-shaped reef long and wide that becomes exposed only at low tides, with the exception of some rock formations in the southern part of the reef. The rocks are generally in height; the largest is South Rock, with a height of , similar to a boat under sail. In the eastern part of the reef there are some sandy
cays A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...
, in height covered with grass and small bushes. The entrance into the central lagoon is possible from a south-southeastern direction. There is an abundance of
seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
s, and the cays are covered in tons of guano. About southwest of Geysir is Zélée Bank, a deep submarine feature.


History

The Geysir Reef was first known by Arab sailors around the year 700, and was shown on some navigation-charts dated around 800. Around 1650 the reef was shown on Spanish maps as ''Arecife de Santo Antonio''. The current name was given on 23 December 1678, when a British vessel, Geysir, ran on the reef. France and the Comoros claim the Banc du Geyser as part of their exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The reef is also claimed by
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. From the French point of view, it is a part of the EEZ of
Glorioso Islands The Glorieuses or Glorioso Islands (french: Îles Glorieuses or officially also ) are a group of French islands and rocks totaling . They are controlled by France as part of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean in the French Southern and A ...
, one of their
Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean (french: Îles Éparses or ''Îles Éparses de l'océan Indien'') consist of four small coral islands, an atoll, and a reef in the Indian Ocean, and have constituted the 5th district of the French South ...
. Madagascar announced its annexation in 1976, presumably because of the possibility of
oil fields A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...
in the vicinity but the Banc du Geyser is controlled in fact by the French ''forces armées de la zone sud de l'océan Indien''. In 2012, France included the reef in the ''parc naturel marin des Glorieuses'', a
marine protected area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conse ...
, to preserve the endangered flora and fauna of the
Glorioso Islands The Glorieuses or Glorioso Islands (french: Îles Glorieuses or officially also ) are a group of French islands and rocks totaling . They are controlled by France as part of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean in the French Southern and A ...
.


External links

*
Sailing Directions: East Africa and the South Indian Ocean
Accessed 30 September 2022. {{Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean Disputed waters Reefs of France Territorial disputes of France Territorial disputes of Madagascar Territorial disputes of the Comoros Reefs of the Indian Ocean Landforms of Madagascar Landforms of the Comoros Comoros–Madagascar relations France–Madagascar relations Comoros–France relations Islands of Africa