Mtsamboro is a small fishing town and
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in northwest
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 loc ...
, a French
overseas department
The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...
in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. Its population according to the 2017 census is 7,705.
[ Included in the commune are the ]Choazil Islands
The Choazil Islands, also known as the Malandzamia Islands, are two small islands located off the shore of Mtsamboro, northern Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. To the northwest is the larger Chissioua Mtsamboro (widely known as Zamburu Island). This ...
and Chissioua Mtsamboro
Chissioua Mtsamboro, widely known previously as M'Tsamboro islet, is a French island located in the archipelago of Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean. It lies north of the Choazil Islands, just off the coast of Mtsamboro. This stretch of water is kn ...
. The main economic activity is fishing and orange production.
History
Archaeology has revealed an occupation existed in thirteenth and fourteenth centuries on the Jiva beach named Mshambara, and traces of a medina dating from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries in the ''quartier'' of Mjikura. Mtsamboro has an important place in the history of Mayotte: this town was the first capital of the Shirazi Sultanate as it hosted the first Sultan of Mayotte at the end of the fifteenth century. Mtsamboro was the main commercial port of the island and was visited by many European vessels. The town, like many others in Mayotte, was ruined and abandoned in the eighteenth century. In Mjikura are the ruins of a royal palace and tombs, an important location for the Sultans of Mayotte.
Geography
The village of Mtsamboro lies on the northwest coast of the island along National Road 1. To the northeast is the village of Mtsahara
Mtsahara is a village in the commune of Mtsamboro on Mayotte
Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and r ...
and to the southwest is Mtsangadoua
Mtsangadoua is a village in the commune of Acoua on Mayotte
Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and r ...
. Two small peninsulas jut out in the village area, the larger of which lies roughly a mile north of the village centre and separates the main village of Mtsamboro and Hamjago
Hamjago is a village in the commune of Mtsamboro on Mayotte
Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and reg ...
from Mtsahara
Mtsahara is a village in the commune of Mtsamboro on Mayotte
Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and r ...
. The larger peninsula is also the nearest point of land to Choazil Island, which with another form the Choazil Islands
The Choazil Islands, also known as the Malandzamia Islands, are two small islands located off the shore of Mtsamboro, northern Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. To the northwest is the larger Chissioua Mtsamboro (widely known as Zamburu Island). This ...
. This stretch of water is known as the Choazil Passage
Choazil Passage is a passage in the Mozambique Channel which separates the mainland of Mtsamboro in northwest Mayotte from the Choazil Islands
The Choazil Islands, also known as the Malandzamia Islands, are two small islands located off the shor ...
, part of 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 long ...
. North of the Choazil Islands is the larger Chissioua Mtsamboro
Chissioua Mtsamboro, widely known previously as M'Tsamboro islet, is a French island located in the archipelago of Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean. It lies north of the Choazil Islands, just off the coast of Mtsamboro. This stretch of water is kn ...
(widely known as Zamburu Island
Chissioua Mtsamboro, widely known previously as M'Tsamboro islet, is a French island located in the archipelago of Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean. It lies north of the Choazil Islands, just off the coast of Mtsamboro. This stretch of water is kn ...
); both islands are under the administration of the commune of Mtsamboro. Chissiou Mtsamboro is separated from the Choazil Islands by the Zamburu Passage
Zamburu Passage is a passage in the Mozambique Channel which separates the Choazil Islands from Chissioua Mtsamboro (Zamburu Island), 3 miles off the northwest coast of Mayotte.
The ''Seaman's guide to the navigation of the Indian Ocean and China ...
. Chissiou Mtsamboro is a mountainous island, providing shelter to the main stretch of beach, tucked away in the southwest of the island which contains a main settlement and numerous huts dotted along the beach. The area to the southeast is heavily forested and forms part of the Reserve Forestiere Des Cretes Du Nord
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...
. To the east is a mountain called Dziani Bole, with an altitude of 472 metres.
Climate
Mtsamboro has a tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...
(Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Aw''). The average annual temperature in Mtsamboro is . The average annual rainfall is with January as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in April, at around , and lowest in August, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Mtsamboro was on 12 April 2020; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 9 September 2000.
Economy
The economy is mainly based around agriculture and fishing; it is notable area for orange production
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
.
Notable landmarks
The main mosque is Wemani Mosque. It contains the Collège de M'tsamboro
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
and Hôtel Mtsamboro. There are at least 3 small sports grounds, two of which lie in very close proximity to the larger peninsula, near Mtsahara.
References
{{authority control
Populated places in Mayotte
Communes of Mayotte