Geography of British Indian Ocean Territory
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The British Indian Ocean Territory is an archipelago of 2,300 islands in the Indian Ocean, located to the south of India, roughly halfway between Africa and Indonesia. The islands have a total area of 60 km², including the entire Chagos Archipelago. The coastline of the British Indian Ocean Territory is of length 698 km. The maritime claims of the territory are three nautical miles, with an exclusive fishing zone of 200 nautical miles.
The climate of the archipelago is tropical marine; it is hot and humid, moderated by trade winds. The terrain is flat and low, with most areas not exceeding an elevation of four metres. The highest point is an unnamed point on the island of Diego Garcia, at 15 m elevation, and the lowest point is the Indian Ocean.
Diego Garcia is the largest and most southern island, which occupies a strategic location in the middle of the Indian Ocean. This island is the site of a joint US-UK military facility.
Available natural resources include: coconuts, fish and sugarcane. There is negligible arable land on the islands.
