Île Platte

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Île Platte

NASA image of Île Platte—Platte Island with surrounding reefs
Geography
Location Indian Ocean
Archipelago Seychelles
Area 0.65 km2 (0.25 sq mi)
Country
Seychelles
Demographics
Population 3
Île Platte
Location of Île Platte in the Indian Ocean

Île Platte or Platte Island is part of the Southern Coral Group of islands in the Seychelles that are part of the Outer Islands.

At 05°52′S 55°24′E / 5.867°S 55.400°E / -5.867; 55.400, it is south of the Seychelles Bank. Coëtivy Island, 171 kilometres (106 mi) further southeast, is also of the Southern Coral Group. Platte Island is located 135 kilometres (84 mi) south of Mahé, the main island of the Seychelles.

NASA image:
Île Platte or Platte Island.

Description

The island, a low and wooded sand cay, is about 1,250 metres (4,100 ft) long north-south, with a width from 250 metres (820 ft) in the south to 550 metres (1,800 ft) in the north, with a land area of 0.65 square kilometres (0.25 sq mi). The island is bisected by a 900 metres (3,000 ft) airfield that follows the long north-south axis. There is a small settlement on the western shore with the manager's house and a few guest cottages to the northwest.

Coral reefs

Barrier reefs, over which the sea breaks heavily, extend 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north, about 0.8 kilometres (0.50 mi) east, and 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) south of the island, making it a pseudo-atoll. Within the barrier reefs, the lagoon is quite smooth, and landing is safe and easy.

A submerged coral reef rim extends 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west and 18 kilometres (11 mi) south of the island, obviously the remnants of a sunken atoll, creating a complex of almost 25 kilometres (16 mi) in length north-south and 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) in width east-west and covering an area of roughly 270 km2.

There are two passages through the reef on the northwest side, available for small vessels with local knowledge only. La Perle Reef lies at the southwestern end of the reef rim, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southwest of Platte Island. Depths of less than 4 metres (13 ft) can exist on this reef where breakers have been observed.

See also

Media related to Platte Island (Île Platte) at Wikimedia Commons

External links


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