Preparis Island is an island which is part of the

Yangon Region Yangon Region(, ; formerly Rangoon Division and Yangon Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar. Located in the heart of Lower Myanmar, the division is bordered by Bago Region to the north and east, the Gulf of Martaban to the south, ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. Together, with the other Andaman Islands (the majority of which are a union territory of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

), it marks the boundary between the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...

and the Andaman Sea. The island has a population of 50 and a total area of . The island is to the SSW of

Cape Negrais Cape Negrais (, also known as Pagoda Point (ဆံတော်ရှင်မြတ်ငူ) or Mawtin Point (မော်တင်စွန်း, Mawtin Soon), is a cape in Burma (Myanmar), west of the Irrawaddy Delta. It is located 133 km ...

, the nearest point on the Myanmar mainland and south of the capital,

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

. The five Coco Islands (also part of Myanmar) are to the south. Preparis island map

History

According to 19th century visitors, the island was uninhabited by humans, but many monkeys were observed. The island was host to the

78th Highlanders The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the Seaforth Highlanders in 1881. Hi ...

regiment when on 5 November 1816 their transport ship hit an off-shore rock. Most passengers and crew survived as a freshwater supply was discovered and their stay was brief. The merchant ship arrived on 10 November and between 11 and 14 November was able to rescue some 316 men, women, and children. The weather and damage to ''Prince Blucher'' prevented her from rescuing another hundred. The Government of Bengal then sent two cruisers that then rescued the remainder.

Geography

Preparis island makes up the northern end of the Andaman Islands chain. The island is long and has a maximum width of . It is covered with dense forest and has gentle slopes rising to a maximum height of . ;Cow and Calf Islets A group of 3 Flat-topped islets, , to the north.Nautical
/ref> ;West Reef Islets A group of 3 islets, , to the west. ;Preparis Pinnacle A rock, high, to the south.

Flora and fauna

The island is covered with low trees and bush. It has extensive flora coverage and area remains largely uncleared.Crawfurd, John, ''Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the Courts of Siam and Cochin China'', 1830

Administration

The island is subject to the Cocokyun

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

, along the Coco Islands.

Demographics

The island has about 50 inhabitants who engage in very small scale farming and fishing, mainly for the local consumption; part of a military unit that inhabits remote border outposts.

Transportation

Several beaches can cater for small supply craft. A small helipad serves the settlement.

References

External links

Official Nautical Chart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preparis Populated places in Yangon Region Islands of Myanmar