Bassas da India
Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAS : Bassas da India
Bassas da India (also called Basse de Judie) is an uninhabited, roughly circular atoll about 10 km in diameter, which corresponds to a total size (including lagoon) of 80 km². It is located at , in the southern Mozambique Channel, about half-way between Madagascar (which is 385 km to the east) and Mozambique, and 110 km northwest of Europa Island. It rises steeply from the seabed 3000 m below. The reef rim averages around 100 m across and completely encloses a shallow lagoon that has a maximum depth of 15 m. Its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 123,700 km² is contiguous with that of Europa Island.
The atoll consists of ten barren rocky islets, with no vegetation, totalling 0.2 km² in area. Those on the north and east sides are 2.1 to 3 m high, and those on the west and south sides 1.2 m. The reef is completely covered by the sea from 3 hours before to 3 hours after high tide. The coastline of the reef measures 35.2 km. The region is subject to cyclones. The atoll has long been a maritime hazard and is the site of numerous shipwrecks.
Bassas da India was first recorded by Portuguese explorers in the early 16th century. In 1897 it became a French possession, later being placed under the administration of a commissioner residing in Réunion in 1968.
| Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean |
| Bassas da India | Europa Island | Glorioso Islands | Juan de Nova Island | Tromelin Island |
External links
- [Oceandots]
- [Sailing Directions: East Africa and the South Indian Ocean]
- CIA World Factbook entry on [Bassas da India]
Overseas French departments and territories |
| Département d'outre-mer>Departments : Guadeloupe1 · French Guiana · Martinique · Réunion These overseas departments are also overseas regions. 1Guadeloupe currently includes Saint-Barthélemy and Saint Martin, who have voted to become separate collectivités d'outre-mer in 2003; the change will be implemented in early 2007. |
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Overseas community : Mayotte (collectivité départementale) · French Polynesia (pays d'outre-mer) · Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (collectivité territoriale) · Wallis and Futuna (territoire) Each overseas community has its own status. |
| Special status : New Caledonia |
| Uninhabited lands : French Southern Territories (Amsterdam Island, Saint-Paul Island, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, Adélie Land) · Clipperton · Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean |
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