Comoros Islands
| Native name: Komori :جزر القمر (Arabic) Archipel des Comores (French) |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Indian Ocean |
| Coordinates | 12°08′24″S 44°15′00″E / 12.14000°S 44.25000°ECoordinates: 12°08′24″S 44°15′00″E / 12.14000°S 44.25000°E |
| Total islands | 5 |
| Major islands |
Grande Comore (Ngazidja) Mohéli (Mwali) Anjouan (Nzwani) Mayotte (Maore) |
| Area | 2,034 km2 (785 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 2,361 m (7,746 ft) |
| Highest point | Karthala |
| Administration | |
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Comoros
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| Islands |
Grande Comore (Ngazidja) Mohéli (Mwali) Anjouan (Nzwani) |
| Largest settlement | Moroni (pop. 60,200) |
| President | Azali Assoumani |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 984,500 |
The Comoros Islands or Comoros (Shikomori Komori; Arabic: جزر القمر , Juzur al-Qamar; French Les Comores) form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the south-east coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and north-west of Madagascar. The islet of Banc du Geyser and the Glorioso Islands are part of the archipelago.
The Comoro Islands are located in the Mozambique Channel to the north-west of Madagascar and facing Mozambique. These volcanic islands, covering a total area of 2361 km², are as follows:
The Glorioso Islands, comprising Grande Glorieuse, Île du Lys and eight small rock islets, were administratively attached to the archipelago before 1975, and, geologically speaking, form a part of the archipelago.
Notable reefs that are part of the archipelago are as follows:
The first traces of inhabitation date back to the 6th century. Numerous peoples have crossed over and mixed, including those of Bantu, Malagasy, Indonesian, Arab, Portuguese, French and Indian origin.
Islam arrived in the 10th Century. These islands formed with Zanzibar, Pemba, Lamu, and the towns along the Kenyan and Tanzanian coast a united and prosperous area with Swahili culture, living by trading, ivory and other African goods destined for markets in the Middle East and India. During this period, power was in the hands of a number of local rulers. During their explorations of all this region, the Portuguese landed on the Islands of the Moon (qamar in Arabic means "moon") in 1505.
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Wikipedia