Astove Island
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Astove Island is 38 km SSE of Cosmoledo Atoll, located at ( ). It is a raised atoll with just one island forming a nearly closed ring of land around a shallow lagoon with a maximum depth of 3 meters, leaving a passage only in the southwest. The atoll measures 4.5 km north to south and is 2 km wide. The land area is 4.96 km², and the total area including the lagoon 9,5 km². The only settlement, on the western coast, has been abandoned since the 1980s. There is a grass airstrip on the north east point of the island. Now a nature reserve, Astove is closed to the public, and, although there is no tangible enforcement, all access is forbidden.
Cosmoledo Atoll, the closest island, and Astove Island are sometimes collectively known as the Cosmoledo Group, which in turn is part of the Aldabra Group.
