Île Platte

Platte Island
Nickname: Île Platte
Location of Île Platte in Seychelles
Geography
Location Indian Ocean
Coordinates 05°52′S 55°24′E / 5.867°S 55.400°E / -5.867; 55.400Coordinates: 05°52′S 55°24′E / 5.867°S 55.400°E / -5.867; 55.400
Archipelago Seychelles
Adjacent bodies of water Indian Ocean
Total islands 1
Major islands
  • Platte     
Area 0.578 km2 (0.223 sq mi)
Length 1.3 km (0.81 mi)
Width 0.55 km (0.342 mi)
Coastline 3.3 km (2.05 mi)
Administration
Group Outer Islands
Sub-Group Southern Coral Group
Districts Outer Islands District
Largest settlement
Platte
(population 3)
Demographics
Demonym Creole
Population 3 (as of 2014)
Density 5.2 /km2 (13.5 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups Creole, French, East Africans, Indians.
Additional information
Time zone
Official website www.seychelles.travel/en/discover/the-islands/outer-islands
ISO Code = SC-26

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

Geography

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 130 kilometres (81 mi) south of Mahé, the main island of the Seychelles. The island, a low and wooded sand cay, is about 1,300 metres (4,300 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 0.578 square kilometres (0.223 sq mi).

History

The island was given its name by Commandant Lampierre who came on the ship La Curieuse in 1771.[1]

Coral reefs

Barrier reefs, over which the sea breaks heavily, extend 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north, 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 tricky passages through the reef on the northwest side, available only 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.

Demographics

There is a small settlement on the western shore with the manager's house and a few guest cottages to the northwest. There is also an abandoned Church and abandoned hospital. the IDC plans to build a hotel instead of the guesthouses[2][3]

Administration

The island belongs to Outer Islands District.[4] Being an island with a small population, there are not any government buildings or services. For many services, people have to go to Victoria, which is a difficult task.

Transport

The island is bisected by a 900 metres (3,000 ft) airfield that follows the long north-south axis. The island is occasionally serviced by an Island Development Company (IDC) aircraft from Mahé.

Economics

The inhabitants on the island are engaged in very small scale farming and fishing which are mainly for the island consumption.

Flora and Fauna

The island is known for its rich fish life.

Image gallery

External links

References

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Platte Island.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 10, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.