Bassas da India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 21°27′S 39°45′E, 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.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Atlas of Bassas da India .

• Oceandots
• Sailing Directions: East Africa and the South Indian Ocean
• CIA World Factbook entry on Bassas da India