St. Joseph Atoll

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St. Joseph Atoll
File:D'Arros and Saint Joseph map.png
Map of D'Arros Island and neighboring St. Joseph Atoll, part of the Amirante Islands group
Location of St. Joseph Atoll in Seychelles
Geography
Location Indian Ocean
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Archipelago Seychelles
Adjacent bodies of water Indian Ocean
Total islands 13
Major islands
  • St. Joseph
  • Fouquet
  • Benjamin
  • Paul
  • Ressource    
Area Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).
Highest elevation 3 m (10 ft)
Sovereign state
Group Outer Islands
Sub-Group Amirante Islands
Sub-Group D'Arros and St. Joseph Atoll Special Reserve[1]
Districts Outer Islands District
Largest settlement
St. Joseph
(population 0)
Demographics
Demonym Creole
Population 0 (as of 2014)
Density 0 /km2 (0 /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

Saint Joseph Atoll is part of the Amirante Islands group, which are in the Outer Islands (Coralline Seychelles) coral archipelago of the Seychelles islands and nation. The atoll is located southwest of the granitic Inner Seychelles archipelago, with a distance of 248 km south of Victoria, Seychelles.

History

The atoll was discovered in 1770 by European sailors.[2]

Private atoll

In 1960, The island became the property of a Seychellois family, who built a coconut plantation on the bigger St. Joseph island.

Nature preserve

In August 2012 it was revealed that the atoll was sold, together with D'Arros Island, for US$60 million, to be managed by the Save Our Seas Foundation.[3][4]

Geography

Saint Joseph Atoll is located only 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi) east of the eastern part of D'Arros Island, but it is a separate geographical unit, separated by 60–62 metres (197–203 ft) deep water of a 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) wide channel, which is deeper than much of the Amirantes Bank. The land area of the Atoll occupies 1.21 square kilometres (0.47 sq mi). The main Saint Joseph island is of crescent shaped, flat coral sand cay, 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) long and with average 0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi) wide, and nowhere higher than 3 metres (9.8 ft). The tree tops are about 24 m high.

Coral reefs

The Atoll stands on a detached patch coral reef similarly orientated, with maximum dimensions of 6.6 kilometres (4.1 mi) and 4.4 kilometres (2.7 mi). Its total area is 22.53 km2, of which 11.74 km2 comprises the peripheral reef flat, 4.8 km2 the interior lagoon, and only 1.39 km2 the land area of all islets. Depths of 500 m are found only 1.5 km east of the reef edge, and of 1000 m one kilometer further east.

Lagoon

The lagoon is completely enclosed by the surrounding reef. At low water it drains over a narrow sill, Passe Lerein Fin, at its western end. The lagoon has a maximum depth of 6.4 m. Other soundings range from 2.1 to 3.7 m. The peripheral reefs, in addition to being exceptionally wide, are covered (except on the west side) with mobile sand. Inter-tidal sand sheets are encroaching on the margins of the lagoon on its windward side, which is marked for much of its extent by a discontinuous linear sandbar. There are no growing reefs in the lagoon.

List of islets

The atoll has 13 sandy islets: the three larger ones along the northeast and east shore, which are covered by coconut plantations, and the remaining ones in the south:

  Island type Area
(hectares)		 Location
1 Vars sand cay 0.21 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
2 Ressource island 12.10 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
3 Fouquet Island (ÎIe aux Fouquets) island 16.70 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
4 Pelican Cay (Pélicans) sand cay 6.00 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
5 Saint Joseph Island island 108.40 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
6 Carcassaye Island sand cay 2.72 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
7 Sable Islet sand cay 0.12 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
8 Benjamen Island sand cay 6.80 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
9 Ferrari Island sand cay 1.02 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
10 Chien Island sand cay 3.25 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
11 Paul Island (ÎIe aux Poules) island 4.58 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
12 Banc aux Cocos east sand cay 0.70 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
13 Banc aux Cocos west sand cay 0.60 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  St. Joseph Atoll Atoll 163.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Administration

The island belongs to Outer Islands District.[5]

Demographics

The atoll is currently uninhabited. it hosted a small population of 10, which now moved to D'Arros Island. There are several ruined buildings on the main island of St. Joseph, near the cultivated area at the western end.

Flora & Fauna

Transport

You can reach the atoll with flights to unpaved airstrip (ICAO: FSDA).

Image gallery

  • Map 1

  • Outer Islands in Seychelles.svg

    District Map

External links

References

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ↑ Info on Mauritius and its dependencies
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. They will manage it as a nature reserve.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ District map
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