Cargados Carajos
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Cargados Carajos Shoals (also known as the Saint Brandon Rocks) are a group of about 16 small islands and islets on an extended reef in the Indian Ocean northeast of Mauritius. The islands have a total land area of 1.3 km². The reef measures more than 50 km from north to south, and is 5 km wide, cut by three passes. The reef area is 190 km². The islands have a small population, made up of natives as well as others and are rich in flora and fauna. The islands are classified as a dependency of Mauritius, which is more than 300 km further south, and are administered from Port Louis. The islands are part of the Mascarene Islands.
In the past, Cargados Carajos was large, volcanic island (part of th Mascarenes, caused by the Réunion hotspot). Over time however, the island was submerged and a coral atoll was left behind.
The formation might be considered an atoll. Individual islets on the reef include, from North to South, with their respective locations:
- Albatross Island 16°19S, 59°36E
- Îlot du Nord (North Island) 16°19S, 59°39E
- Île Raphael 16°27S, 59°37E
- Îlot Siren 16°28S, 59°34E
- Ile Tortue 16°28S, 59°41E
- Pearl Islet (Île Perle) 16°31S, 59°32E
- Île du Sud 16°32S, 59°32E
- Avocare Island (Avoquer) 16°35S, 59°40E
- Mapare Islet 16°35S, 59°41E
- Frigate Islet (Île Frégate) 16°37S, 59°31E
- Îlote du Paul 16°37S, 59°33E
- Baleine Rocks 16°41S, 59°30E
- Ile Veronge (Verronge) 16°41S, 59°37E
- Veronge Ilot 16°42S, 59°38E
- Palm Islet 16°45S, 59°35E
- Coco Island (île aux Cocos) 16°50S, 59°30E
- Grande Capitane 16°40S, 59°50E
- Petite Capitane 16°36S, 59°34E
- Puits A Eau 16°39S, 59°34E
- Ile Poulailer 16°44S, 59°46E
- Chaloupe 16°49S, 59°50E
- Courson 16°48S, 59°30E
Siren Island, Pearl Island (Ile Perle), Frigate Island (Ile Frégate) are west of the reef, while North Island (Ile du Nord) is about 4 km Northeast of the northern tip of the reef.
Albatros Island, which is about 18 km further North, is geographically a separate single coral island at location 16°16'S, 59°35'E.
Albatros Island is the highest (6 m) and largest of the islands in the group, with an area of 1.01 km², followed by Raphael, Avocaré, Cocos Island and Ile du Sud.
The main settlement is on Raphael, comprising a privately-owned commercial fishing station (with a minimum of 35 resident employees), coastguard and meteorological station (with eight residents in 1996). Smaller settlements exist on Avocaré, Cocos and Sud; the settlement on Albatros was abandoned in 1988.
There are coconut trees on a few islands.
Cultural References Elsewhere
In Puerto Rico, part of the archipielago's name is used as a slang reference for a proverbial faraway place (given its geographical distance from the Caribbean country). This reference is most commonly used when the user wants to refer a derided subject to hell, as in "¡Vete al Carajo!" (In the Castillian Spanish spoken in Spain, the word "carajo" has a phallic connotation, which was lost in its mutation into Puerto Rican Spanish).
Sources
- [Further information on Cargados Carajos]
- [Districts of Mauritius]
- [Map of Mauritius]
- [Dispersal of the Genus Phelsuma in the Mascarenes]
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| Districts | |
| Black River | Flacq | Grand Port | Moka | Pamplemousses | Plaines Wilhems | Port Louis | Rivière du Rempart | Savanne | |
| Dependencies | |
| Agalega Islands | Cargados Carajos Shoals | Rodrigues | |
Rodrigues Agalega Islands Cargados Carajos Shoals Chagos Archipelago Tromelin Saya de Malha Bank Nazareth Bank Soudan Banks
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