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42-468: The Comoro Islands are located in the Mozambique Channel to the north-west of Madagascar and facing Mozambique. These volcanic islands, covering a total area of 2034 km, are as follows: The Glorioso Islands , comprising Grande Glorieuse , Île du Lys and eight little rock islets, were administratively attached to the archipelago before 1975, and, geologically speaking, form a part of

84-422: A few days the volcanic activity subsided. The mountain is covered by intact moist evergreen forest from 1200 metres to about 1800 metres above sea-level. Higher up the vegetation consists of stunted trees and heathland where the giant heather Erica comorensis grows. The mountain's forest is threatened by logging and the spread of agriculture. Many of the species found on the mountain are unique to

126-626: A few gusts of wind, but their intensity is a lot less than during the hot season. The two winds that bring the two different seasons are called the Kashkasi (in November) and the Kusi. Partly as a result of international pressure during the 1990s, the government of the Union has begun to take greater care of the environment. Measures have been taken not only to preserve the rare fauna, but also to check

168-456: A political crisis that started off in 1997 with the separatism on Anjouan. The political authorities on the island had turned the population of the island against the central government, advocating at first reunification with France, and later a greater autonomy bordering on independence. Since 2006, the former president of the Union of the Comoros, Ahmed Abdallah Sambi , who is originally from

210-752: A southward direction in the channel, leading into the Agulhas Current off the east coast of Southern Africa . The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the limits of the Mozambique Channel as follows: On 15 November 1939, under the command of Captain Patrick (Paddy) Dove , the British Coastal Tanker Africa Shell was plying through the Mozambique Channel en-passage from Quelimane to Lourenco Marques sailing in ballast . During

252-530: A subsidiary of the World Bank ) and the Comorian government, is applying itself to improving the water supply on the islands. Like most islands, the diversity of the local flora suffers from two pressures, on the one hand the reduction of available space caused by humans settling in what used to be the wildest areas, and the invasion of exotic plant species such as guava trees. Much of the remaining habitat

294-625: Is divided between: Mayotte became a French Department on 31 March 2011. The United Nations General Assembly continued to condemn the French presence in Mayotte until 1994. France, however, used its power of veto in the UN to prevent the Security Council from passing a resolution condemning France. The African Union judged the French presence on Mayotte to be illegal. The Comoros underwent

336-510: Is not protected, and the islands' growing population puts more pressure on the remaining wild lands. The islands are home to eight species of native terrestrial mammal – three species of fruit bat, three insectivorous bat species, and two lemur species. Two bat species, Livingstone's fruit bat ( Pteropus livingstonii ) and the Comoro rousette ( Rousettus obliviosus ), are endemic. Livingstone's fruit bat, discovered by David Livingstone in 1863,

378-828: Is present on Mayotte, where it is believed to have been introduced from Madagascar. It is protected by French law and by local tradition. Mammals introduced to the islands by humans include the Javan mongoose ( Urva javanica ) and tailless tenrec ( Tenrec ecaudatus ). Twenty-two species of birds are endemic to the archipelago. Endemic species include the Karthala scops-owl ( Otus pauliani ), Anjouan scops-owl ( Otus capnodes ) and Humblot's flycatcher ( Humblotia flavirostris ). Native invertebrates include Scolopendra , venomous centipedes that can reach up to 25 centimetres long. No large African animals ( elephants , giraffes , lions , crocodiles , zebras or antelopes ) are found on

420-442: Is quite large, being approximately 3 x 4 km (1.9 x 2.5 miles) in size at the rim (2007). The Comoro Archipelago enjoys a tropical maritime climate, characterized by slight daytime temperature variations throughout the year of around 26 °C (78.8 °F) at sea level and by abundant precipitation: 2,679 mm (105.5 in) a year. The average temperature of the sea water is 25 °C (77 °F). There are two seasons in

462-462: Is the oldest of the islands, and has many meandering streams which descend from mountain forests, as well as two lakes – Dziani Karehani and Dziani Dzaha. Mohéli also has freshwater streams, and the freshwater but sulfurous lake Dziani Boundouni. Grande Comore, the largest and youngest island, is volcanically active and has thin and rocky soils, with no perennial streams or large stream valleys. Anjouan also has few permanent freshwater habitats. All of

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504-649: The Africa Shell of all foodstuffs including a small amount of wine . The crew were ordered to row for shore, however Captain Dove was taken prisoner on board the Graf Spee where he was to be held captive. Capt. Dove was incensed by the interception of his ship, and complained personally to Capt. Langsdorff, citing that the Africa Shell was within Portuguese Territorial Waters and that

546-454: The Africa Shell, a cutter with a boarding party was despatched from the Graf Spee and subsequently boarded the tanker, the officer in charge addressing Captain Dove in perfect English with the sentence: "Good morning, captain. Sorry; fortunes of war." In time, the boarding party ordered the ship's company , save the Africa Shell's Master , into their lifeboats before stripping

588-552: The Battle of Madagascar . Karthala Mount Karthala or Karthola ( Arabic : القرطالة Al Qirṭālah ) is an active volcano and the highest point of the Comoros at 2,361 m (7,746 ft) above sea level. It is the southernmost and larger of the two shield volcanoes forming Grande Comore island, the largest island in the nation of Comoros. The Karthala volcano is very active, having erupted more than 20 times since

630-404: The Graf Spee. With all personnel safely aboard the Graf Spee , Langsdorff and his crew observed the detonation of the charges which blew two holes in the Africa Shell's stern . Following this Graf Spee opened fire using some of her secondary armament of 15 cm (5.9 in) SK C/28 guns, sinking the Africa Shell . In 1942, the Mozambique Channel was a World War II clashpoint during

672-623: The Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique . The channel is about 1,700 km (900 nmi; 1,100 mi) long and 419 km (226 nmi; 260 mi) across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of 3,292 m (10,801 ft) about 230 km (124 nmi; 143 mi) off the coast of Mozambique. A warm current , the Mozambique Current , flows in

714-469: The Tertiary and Quaternary periods. The island of Mayotte is the oldest one still above sea level and underwent three volcanic phases between 15 million and 500,000 years ago. The ages progressively decrease from east to west. Grande Comore is the youngest island and is still volcanically active. Karthala , a shield volcano occupying some two thirds of the island, rises to 2361 meters. The summit caldera

756-591: The green sea turtle ( Chelonia mydas ), most abundantly on Mohéli and Mayotte where they still come to lay eggs, and the coelacanth , a deepwater fish known from fossils over 300 million years old. Four marine national parks were established in 2010 – Coelacanth National Park (92.76 km) along the south shore of Grande Comore, Mitsamiouli Ndroude National Park (23.14 km) along the north shore of Grande Comore, Mohéli National Park (643.62 km) around Mohéli, and Shisiwani National Park (64.97 km) around Anjouan's Sima Peninsula. The Comoro Archipelago

798-415: The 1975 referendum, expressed a wish to accede to the status of a département d'outre-mer (DOM) ( Overseas Department ) following another referendum held on the island on 29 March 2009. Mayotte officially became France's 101st department on 31 March 2011. The Comoro Archipelago consists of volcanic islands. These volcanic islands, together with the high mountains in the north of Madagascar, were formed in

840-429: The 19th century. Frequent eruptions have shaped the volcano's 3 km by 4 km summit caldera , but the island has largely escaped broad destruction. Eruptions on April 17, 2005 and May 29, 2006 ended a period of quiet. The eruption, which carried a risk of lava flows and deadly volcanic gas , caused the evacuation of 30,000 residents. The crater was clearly changed by the eruption. A grey field of ash surrounds

882-727: The Comoros and four bird species are found only on the slopes of Mount Karthala: Grand Comoro drongo , Humblot's flycatcher , Karthala scops owl , and Karthala white-eye . A 14,228 ha (35,160-acre) tract encompassing the upper slopes and summit of the mountain has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International , because it supports populations of Comoros blue pigeons , Comoros fodies , Comoros olive pigeons , Comoros thrushes , Grand Comoro brush warblers , Grand Comoro bulbuls , Grand Comoro drongos, Humblot's flycatchers, Humblot's sunbirds , Karthala scops owls, Karthala white-eyes, and Malagasy harriers . Karthala National Park protects an area of 262.14 km on

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924-400: The Comoros on 5 March 2004 causing great material damage. During the hot and humid season it can rain as much as 200 mm (7.9 in) in twenty-four hours. The dry season is calmer. The low pressure moves towards the continent of Asia (this is the monsoon , the wind blowing from the south-east) and an anticyclone forms below the Comoros. This still does not prevent the islands from having

966-411: The Comoros, despite the islands being relatively close to the mainland. Freshwater habitats on the islands include streams originating in the islands' forested highlands and flowing into the sea, as well as crater lakes. These habitats are home to species of freshwater and brackish water fish, frogs, waterbirds, dragonflies, and caddisflies. Mayotte and Moheli have perennial streams and lakes. Mayotte

1008-489: The Comoros. The islands' seagrass beds have been degraded by sedimentation and climate change . Between 1993 and 1998 the Thalassodendron ciliatum beds at Moheli Marine Park were destroyed by a large sediment influx into the lagoon from upland deforestation coupled with high rainfall. Mayotte has 8.5 km of mangroves. There are approximately 120 ha of mangroves on the other Comoro islands, 75% of which are on

1050-468: The Comoros: the hot and humid season flowing in from the north-west from November to April and the dry season from May to October. The climate on Mayotte is, nevertheless, noticeably warmer and drier. The climate is also characterized by important local variations in temperature and precipitation according to altitude, relief and the degree of exposure to the elements. Annual precipitation therefore varies in

1092-419: The action was in clear violation of international law . With the crew of the Africa Shell making their way to the shore, and with Capt. Dove transferred to the Graf Spee, the boarding party proceeded to set about the operation of sinking the tanker. Scuttling charges were placed within the ship, and their timers set, following which the party re-embarked in the motor launch and made their way back to

1134-450: The archipelago. Notable reefs that are part of the archipelago are as follows: The Comoros may have been settled as early as the 6th century; among the peoples who crossed the sea to populate the islands are Bantu-speaking peoples , Austronesian (including Malagasy ), Arabs , Somalis , Portuguese , French , and Indians . Islam probably arrived during the 10th century. The Comoros islands formed, with Zanzibar , Pemba , Lamu , and

1176-671: The archipelago. Except in Mayotte, the population voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence. Following the unilateral declaration of independence in 1975, France maintained sovereignty over Mayotte. The three remaining islands formed the Etat Comorian , which later became the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoro Islands and is today the Union of the Comoros . In 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961

1218-590: The coast of Grande Comore, 80% of Anjouan's coast, and 100% of Mohéli's coast. The Sima Peninsula on Anjouan is surrounded by a vast reef. The islands also have rocky reefs on basalt substrates. Mayotte has 7.6 km of seagrass beds. The extensive seagrass beds in Moheli Marine Park account for about 90% of the remaining seagrass beds in the Comoros. Other seagrass beds occur at Mitsamiouli, Malé and Ouroveni around Grande Comore and at Bimbini and Ouani around Anjouan. There are eight seagrass species in

1260-697: The coastal towns of Kenya and Tanzania, a united and prosperous region of Swahili culture , trading in local goods which were exported to the African coast, Madagascar, the Middle East and India. In that period, political power was in the hands of local rulers. During their explorations of the Comoros region, the Portuguese made landfall on the Islands of the Moon, in 1505; kamar is Arabic for moon . During

1302-431: The colonial period, French settlers established plantations, initially producing sugar, an intensive process dependent on the labor of numerous Africans. In the twentieth century, they cultivated perfume plants and spices, such as ylang ylang , vanilla and cloves , as well as copra . In 1946, France redefined the Comoros as a French overseas territory . In 1974, France organized a referendum for self-determination in

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1344-591: The course of the morning, at a point 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) south-southwest from the lighthouse at Cape Zavora , she was spotted by the German Pocket Battleship Admiral Graf Spee , under the command of Captain Hans Langsdorff , and which was embarked upon a commerce raiding sortie . Graf Spee ordered the Africa Shell to stop by the firing of a shot across her bow . Having stopped

1386-405: The crater and the caldera itself seems larger and deeper. The crater lake , which formed after Karthala's last eruption in 1991 and once dominated the caldera, is now gone completely. In its place were rough, dark grey rocks, possibly cooling lava or rubble from the collapsed crater. On May 29, Reuters reported that residents of Moroni could see lava spewing at the top of the volcano. Within

1428-563: The destruction of the environment, especially on Anjouan, which is densely populated. More precisely, in order to minimize the felling of trees for fuel, kerosene has been subsidized, and efforts are underway to replace the lost forest cover caused by the distillation of Ylang-ylang for perfume. The Fund for the Support of Community Development, sponsored by the International Development Association (IDA,

1470-419: The freshwater fish on the Comoros are from secondary families, i.e. families of fish which can tolerate salt water. No primary families – fish families adapted to freshwater and intolerant of salt water – are native to the island, on account of the islands' oceanic origin and relatively recent geologic origins. Mayotte, the oldest island, is surrounded by a barrier reef , with extensive reefs and lagoons between

1512-473: The island of Anjouan, has been in open conflict with the authorities of Anjouan, a conflict which ended in a landing of the National Army of Development in order to re-establish the authority of the Union on the island. Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel ( French : Canal du Mozambique , Malagasy : Lakandranon'i Mozambika , Portuguese : Canal de Moçambique ) is an arm of

1554-418: The reef and the island. The reef and lagoon cover over 1,000 km. They are home to more than 760 species of marine fish, including 17 threatened species, 581 species of marine arthropods , more than 450 cnidarian species, and 24 marine mammal species. The other Comoro Islands are surrounded by fringing reefs , which form a narrow platform extending a short distance from the coast. Reefs fringe about 60% of

1596-461: The region of 1,000 to 6,000 mm (39.4 to 236.2 in) and the absolute minimum of 0 °C (32 °F) is reached on the summit of Karthala . The hot, dry season is caused by a vast low pressure area which extends over a large part of the Indian Ocean and Central Africa. This low pressure favours gusty winds and cyclones . The last cyclone was Cyclone Gafilo , which passed close to

1638-937: The south coast of Mohéli, particularly around Damou and Mapiachingo. Smaller areas of mangrove are also found on Grande Comore and Anjouan. There are seven mangrove species in the Comoros, with Rhizophora mucronata and Avicennia marina the most abundant. Marine mammals in the Comoros' seas include the humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ), dugong ( Dugong dugon ) spinner dolphin ( Stenella longirostris ), pantropical spotted dolphin ( Stenella attenuata ), Fraser's dolphin ( Lagenodelphis hosei ), bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops sp.), Risso's dolphin ( Grampus griseus ), melon-headed whale ( Peponocephala electra ), short-finned pilot whale ( Globicephala macrorhynchus ), pygmy killer whale ( Feresa attenuata ), Blainville's beaked whale ( Mesoplodon densirostris ), and Longman's beaked whale ( Mesoplodon pacificus ). Other marine fauna include

1680-623: The three islands more autonomy than had been enjoyed previously. In 2008, the President of Anjouan refused to hold free elections. He was forced to flee following military intervention by troops of the Comorian Union and the African Union . The island country continues its present form of confederal government, albeit with minor changes approved in referendums in 2009 and 2018. Mayotte, which had voted to retain French suzerainty in

1722-490: Was hijacked and crashed off the shore of the grande island. 125 people died onboard, including the three hijackers who caused the crash. 50 people survived. In 1997, demands for increased autonomy on the islands of Ndzuani (Anjouan) and Mwali (Moheli) led to the breakup of the Federal Islamic Republic. In 2001, the government reformed as the Union of the Comoros under a new constitution which gave each of

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1764-533: Was previously abundant, but has now been reduced to a population of about 1,200 specimens restricted to Anjouan and Moheli. A British preservation group sent an expedition to the Comoros in 1992, with the object of transporting some specimens to Great Britain, in order to form a reproducing colony. Native lemurs include the mongoose lemur ( Eulemur mongoz ) and the common brown lemur ( Eulemur fulvus ). The common brown lemur or maki, known as Kima in Shikomori ,

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