Grande-Terre (Mayotte)

Grande-Terre

Native name: <span class="nickname" ">Maore, Mahori
Grande-Terre administrative
Geography
Location	Africa
Coordinates	12°49′55″S 45°08′58″E / 12.831887°S 45.149474°E
Archipelago	Comoros Island
Area	368 km^2 (142 sq mi)
Area rank	~11th
Highest elevation	660 m (2,170 ft)
Highest point	Mount Benara
Country
Mayotte, claimed by Comoros
Largest settlement	Mamoudzou (pop. 53,022 (2009) 186,452[1])
Demographics
Population	(as of 2010)
Density	499 /km^2 (1,292 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Arab, Maori, Swahili, Madagascar

Grande-Terre (or Maore) is the main island of the French overseas region of Mayotte.^[2] The island is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique.

Its biggest city and prefecture is Mamoudzou. The territory is geographically part of the Comoro Islands, but the people of Mayotte chose to remain politically a part of France in the 1975 referendum. The territory is also known as Maore, the native name of its main island, especially by advocates of its inclusion in the Union of Comoros. In a 2009 referendum, the population overwhelmingly approved accession to status of department (95.2% voted in favor of departmental status). Mayotte became an overseas department on 31 March 2011 and will become an Outermost region of the European Union on 1 January 2014.

Mayotte, Grande Terre

The outskirts of Mayotte.

References

1. INSEE, Government of France. "INSEE Infos No 32" (PDF) (in French). Retrieved 2007-12-02.
2. "Mayotte devient le 101e département français", Portail du Gouvernement, 4 April 2011, C'est pourquoi Mayotte devient le 101e département français et le 5e département d'Outre-Mer et région d'Outre-Mer.