Sister Islands are a group of uninhabited islands of the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...

. They belong to the

South Andaman South Andaman Island is the southernmost island of the Great Andaman and is home to the majority of the population of the Andaman Islands. It belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman an ...

administrative

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

, part of the

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 ...

n union territory of

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...

. These islands are south from

Port Blair Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South An ...

History

Before the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

established a colony on the Andaman, the Sister islands were visited occasionally by the

Onge people The Onge (also Önge, Ongee, and Öñge) are an Andamanese ethnic group, indigenous to the Andaman Islands in Southeast Asia at the Bay of Bengal, currently administered by India. They are traditionally hunter-gatherers and fishers, but als ...

Little Andaman Island Little Andaman Island (Onge: ''Gaubolambe'') is the fourth largest of the Andaman Islands of India with an area of 707 km2, lying at the southern end of the archipelago. It belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the I ...

for fishing. They may have been a waystation for their temporary settlement of

Rutland Island Rutland Island is an island of the Andaman Islands. It belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The island is located south from Port Blair. History The island u ...

between 1890 and 1930.George Weber (~2009),
The Tribes
'. Chapter 8 in

''. Accessed on 2012-07-12. The islands have been a

wildlife refuge A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

since 1987, with 0.36 km².Government of India (2000),
Directory of Wildlife Protected Areas in India
''. Envis Bulletin, volume 3, issue 1. Accessed on 2012-07-12.

Geography

The islands belong to the

Rutland Archipelago Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

and are located south of

Passage Island (Andaman) Passage Island or ''Duncan Island''US Hydrographic Office (1916Bay of bengal Pilot page 288. H.O. pub. 160, Government Printing Office. is an uninhabited island of the Andaman Islands. It belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, pa ...

. The islands are located at the northern side of the

Duncan Passage Duncan Passage is a strait in the Bay of Bengal. It is about wide; it separates Rutland Island (part of Great Andaman and South Andaman administrative division) to the north, and Little Andaman to the south. West of Duncan Passage is the Bay of ...

,US Hydrographic Office (1916
Bay of bengal Pilot
page 288. H.O. pub. 160, Government Printing Office. about 6 km southeast of Passage Island and 18 km north of North Brother. The group consists of: *

East Sister Island (Andaman) East Sister Island or ''Takoa-te'' is a small uninhabited island in the Andaman Archipelago, at the northern side of the Duncan Passage,US Hydrographic Office (1916Bay of bengal Pilot page 288. H.O. pub. 160, Government Printing Office. about 6 km ...

West Sister Island (Andaman) West Sister Island or ''Te-joma-de'' is a small uninhabited island in the Andaman Islands, Andaman Archipelago, at the northern side of the Duncan Passage,US Hydrographic Office (1916Bay of bengal Pilot page 288. H.O. pub. 160, Government Printing ...

The islands are 220 m apart, connected by a coral reef. They are covered by forests and have rocky shores except for a beach on the NW side of East Sister. East Sister Island is 76m high and West Sister Island is 70.7m high.

Administration

Politically, Sister Islands are part of

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

References

* Islands of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Archipelagoes of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Uninhabited islands of India {{AndamanNicobar-geo-stub