Location:
Eastern Africa, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, northeast of
Madagascar
Geographic coordinates:
4 35 S, 55 40 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 455 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 455 sq km
Area - comparative:
2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
491 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate:
tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon
(late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon
(March to May)
Terrain:
Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others
are coral, flat, elevated reefs
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m
Natural resources:
fish, copra, cinnamon trees
Land use:
arable land: 2.22%
permanent crops: 13.33%
other: 84.45% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
NA sq km
Natural hazards:
lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short
droughts possible
Environment - current issues:
water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note:
40 granitic and about 50 coralline islands