Île Platte

Platte Island

Nickname: Île Platte
Île Platte is located in Seychelles Location of Île Platte in Seychelles
Geography
Location	Indian Ocean
Coordinates
Archipelago	Seychelles
Adjacent bodies of water	Indian Ocean
Total islands	1
Major islands	Platte
Area
Length	1.3 km (0.81 mi)
Width	0.55 km (0.342 mi)
Coastline	3.3 km (2.05 mi)
Sovereign state
Seychelles
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	SCT (UTC+4)
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 , 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.

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

Administration

The island belongs to Outer Islands District. 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

• 

  Map 1

• Outer Islands in Seychelles.svg

  District Map

• Platte Total 5050.png

  NASA image of Île Platte—Platte Island with surrounding reefs

• Platte-Ile.png

  NASA image of Platte Island.

• Platte.jpg

  NASA astronaut image of Platte Island (Seychelles) in the Indian Ocean

External links

• Island guide 1
• Island guide 2
• National Bureau of Statistics
• Info on the island
• Gallery

References

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons