Tromelin Island

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Tromelin Island {{IPA (French: Île Tromelin /ˈil.trɔmˈlɛ̃/) is a low, flat one km² island in the Indian Ocean, about 350 km east of Madagascar (Geographic coordinates [15°52′S 54°25′E]). There are no harbours or anchorages and access by sea is difficult. The island has a 1,000-metre airstrip.

Map of Tromelin Island

Tromelin is a low, scrub-covered sandbank about 1,700 metres long and 700 metres wide, surrounded by coral reefs. It is a nesting site for seabirds and turtles.

The island was first recorded by a French navigator in 1722. It takes its name from the chevalier de Tromelin, captain of the French warship La Dauphine, who visited the island in 1776. Tromelin Island was occupied by France in 1954, but it is claimed by Mauritius and Madagascar. The island the site of a shipwreck in 1761 when a French ship, the Utile, carrying slaves from Madagascar to Mauritius ran onto the reefs of the island. The crew reached Madagascar in a raft, abandoning some 60 slaves on the desert island. Fifteen years later, the chevalier de Tromelin rescued the survivors — seven women and an eight-month-old child.

Satellite image of Tromelin Island

Tromelin has an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 280,000 km², contiguous with that of Réunion. The island's weather station, which warns of cyclones, is manned by meteorologists from Réunion.

Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean
Bassas da India | Europa Island | Glorioso Islands | Juan de Nova Island | Tromelin Island

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.
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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