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 An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

, and a

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

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 t ...

, and have constituted the 5th district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF), though sovereignty over some or all of the Islands is contested by Madagascar, Mauritius, and the Comoros. None of the islands have ever had a permanent population. Two of the islands— Europa and

Juan de Nova Juan de Nova Island (french: Île Juan de Nova, ), Malagasy: ''Nosy Kely'') is a French-controlled tropical island in the narrowest part of the Mozambique Channel, about one-third of the way between Madagascar and Mozambique. It is a low, flat ...

—and the

Bassas da India (; mg, Nosy Bedimaky) is an uninhabited, roughly circular French atoll that is part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. Located in the southern Mozambique Channel, about halfway between Mozambique and Madagascar (about further east ...

atoll lie 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 ...

west of Madagascar, while a third island, Tromelin, lies about east of Madagascar and 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 ...

lies about northwest of Madagascar. Also in the Mozambique Channel is the ''

Banc du Geyser Banc du Geyser (also Banc du Geysir) is a mostly submerged reef in the Mozambique Channel's northeastern part, northeast from Mayotte, southwest of the Glorioso Islands, and off the northwestern coast of Madagascar. Description The Banc is a ...

'', a mostly submerged reef considered a part of the Glorioso Islands by France and the Comoros. The islands have been classified as

nature reserve 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 ...

s. Except for Bassas da India, they all support meteorological stations: those on the Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova, and Europa Island are automated. The station on Tromelin Island, in particular, provides warning of cyclones threatening

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 ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

, or Réunion. Each of the islands, except ''Banc du Geyser'' and Bassas da India, has an airstrip of more than .

Overview

Individual islands

**Ten unnamed rock islets *

Europa Island Europa Island (, ), in Malagasy Nosy Ampela is a low-lying tropical atoll in the Mozambique Channel, about a third of the way from southern Madagascar to southern Mozambique. The island had never been inhabited until 1820, when the French fam ...

**Île Europa **Eight unnamed rock islets *

**''

'' **Grande Glorieuse **Île du Lys **South Rock **Verte Rocks (three islets) **Wreck Rock **Three unnamed islets *

Juan de Nova Island Juan de Nova Island (french: Île Juan de Nova, ), Malagasy: ''Nosy Kely'') is a French-controlled tropical island in the narrowest part of the Mozambique Channel, about one-third of the way between Madagascar and Mozambique. It is a low, flat ...

Tromelin Island Tromelin Island (; french: Île Tromelin, ) is a low, flat island in the Indian Ocean about north of Réunion and about east of Madagascar. Tromelin is administered as part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, a French Overseas Te ...

Administration

Since January 3, 2005, the Îles Éparses have been administered on behalf of the French state by the senior administrator of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (''TAAF'' — ''les Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises''), based in Réunion. The Îles Éparses had previously been under the administration of the

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of Réunion since the independence of

in 1960. France maintains a military garrison of around 14 troops on each of the islands in the

that are claimed by Madagascar. The Glorioso Islands are also claimed by the Comoros, while Mauritius claims Tromelin Island. France has an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 nautical miles around each of the small islands in the Îles Éparses, which together with the EEZ claims for the islands of

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 ...

and Réunion totals more than one million square kilometres in the western Indian Ocean. There is considerable overlap of the EEZ with the neighbouring states.

Sovereignty dispute

, and the Comoros dispute France's sovereignty over these islands. Mauritius claims Tromelin and states that the island, discovered by France in 1722, was not ceded by the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

in 1814.

claims sovereignty over the Glorioso Islands (including Banc du Geyser), though the islands were never a part of the

Malagasy Protectorate The Malagasy Protectorate was a French protectorate in what is now Madagascar. Through the protectorate, France attempted to control the foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Imerina through its representative at Antananarivo. France declared the is ...

, having been a part of the Colony of Mayotte and dependencies, then a part of the

French Comoros The history of the Comoros extends to about 800–1000 AD when the archipelago was first inhabited. The Comoros have been inhabited by various groups throughout this time. France colonised the islands in the 19th century, and they became independ ...

that had become a separately administered colony from Madagascar in 1946. The Comoros also claims the Glorioso Islands (including Banc du Geyser), as a part of the disputed

French region France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collect ...

. Furthermore, Madagascar has also claimed

, Europa, and

since 1972, and a 1979 United Nations resolution (without binding force) demanded the cession of these islands to Madagascar.

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

claimed a part of the Scattered Islands too before the signing of the France–Seychelles Maritime Boundary Agreement.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2007 establishments in Africa 2007 establishments in France Dependent territories in Africa Disputed islands French Southern and Antarctic Lands

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