Seychelles Geography
The Seychelles archipelago is located in the Indian Ocean northeast of the island of Madagascar and approximately 1,600 km east of Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania.
It is made up of some 115 tropical islands, of granite and coral origin, distributed over an ocean surface of 388,500 km², the furthest being some 1,200 km away (Aldabra-La Digue). Of these, only 33 islands are permanently inhabited.
Inner Islands
The Inner Islands (Inner Islands) are the main nucleus of the country. They are a group of 42 islands located to the northeast of the archipelago. With an area of 243.7 km² they make up 54% of the total area of Seychelles and contain 98% of the population.
The Granitic group consists of 40 islands of granitic origin, located within a radius of 56 km from the main island, Mahé. They are rocky islands, most have a narrow strip of coastline and a central core of hills that rise to 3,000 feet. The most important islands of this group are:
- Mahé is the largest island, with a size of 142 km2. The capital of Seychelles, Victoria, is in Mahé.
- Praslin,
- Silhouette,
- La Digue,
- Fregate,
- Curieuse,
- North,
- Aride
There are also two coral islands that make up the northern limit of the Inner Islands:
- Bird (Bird Island)
- Denis (Denis Island).
Outer Islands
Islands that do not belong to the Inner Island group are considered part of the Outer Islands (in Seychellois Creole, Zil Elwannyen Sesel). They consist of five groups of coral islands:
- South Coralino Groupwhich brings together the Platte and Coetivy Islands
- Amirate Islandswith islands such as Desroches, D'Arros, Poivre, Remire and African Banks
- Alphonse Islandswith the Atoll of Alphonse and the Atoll of St. François
- Aldabra Groupwith the Atoll of Aldabra, the Island of Assumption, and the Group of Cosmoledo (formed by the Atoll of Cosmoledo and the Island of Astove)
- Farquhar Groupwith the Atoll of Farquhar, Atoll of Providence and St. Pierre.
They comprise 211.3 km² (46% of Seychelles), but only 2% of the population. The coral islands are flat, with coral reefs in various stages of formation. They lack fresh water and can sustain human life with difficulty.
Geology
The highest point in the Seychelles is the 905m Morne Seychellois on the island of Mahé.
The Seychelles are part of the Mascarene Granitic Plateau that interrupts the Indian tectonic plate. This formation is associated with the Réunion Island hot spot, responsible for the formation of Réunion Island and the Deccan Traps in inland India.
Climate
The local climate is tropical, temperate and quite humid due to the influence of the sea.
The temperature varies little throughout the year. Temperatures on Mahé vary between 24°C and 30°C. During the cooler months of July and August, the temperature drops to 21 °C. The warm months are from December to April, with higher humidity. March and April are the warmest months, but the temperature rarely exceeds 31 °C.
Precipitation on Mahé ranges from 2,900mm in Victoria to 3,600mm on the slopes of the mountain. Annual precipitation is somewhat less on the other islands.
The southeast trade winds blow regularly from May to November, which is the most pleasant time of the year. Most of the islands lie outside the cyclone zone, so strong winds are rare.
Flora and fauna
Due to its long isolation, the Seychelles has several unique species: the sea coconut (lodoicea maldivica), the palm tree with the largest seeds in the plant kingdom; five more species of endemic palms; and the world's largest population of giant tortoises.
Other main data
Natural resources
fishing, copra, cinnamon tree
Land use
| farmland: | 2 % |
| Permanent harvests: | 13 % |
| Permanent pastures: | 0 % |
| forests and trees: | 11 % |
| others: | 74 % (1993 est.) |
Irrigated land
—Not available—
International environmental agreements
| Participates in the agreements on: | Biodiversity, climate change, desertification, endangered species, hazardous wastes, Law on the Sea, immersion of wastes, prohibition of nuclear testing, protection of the ozone layer, pollution from maritime traffic, whale fishing. |
| Signed, but not ratified: | About Climate Change- Kyoto Protocol |
Protected areas of the Seychelles Islands
According to the IUCN, in the Seychelles there are 51 protected areas that cover 300 km² of mainland, 61.52% of the 487 km² of the islands, however, the marine surface is enormous, and 439,997 km² are protected, 32 82% of the total belonging to the country, which is 1,340,839 km². Of the seven types of designation, 9 are nature reserves, 4 are national parks, 11 are national marine parks, 8 are special reserves, 4 are shell reserves, 8 are areas of outstanding natural beauty, and 1 is a plain protected area. In addition, there are 2 world heritage sites and 4 Ramsar sites.
In the Seychelles there are three main islands, Mahé, Praslin and La Digue, the most densely populated, which are part of the 42 inner islands, and 72 outer islands made up of coral islands, atolls and coral reefs. The latter are home to 2% of the 90,000 inhabitants of Seychelles and are the most in need of protection. Some islands, such as the Alphonse group, Desroches, Poivre, Farquar and the private atolls D'Arros and Saint Joseph lie between 230 and 1,150 km from the main island of Mahé.