Glorioso Islands

Glorioso Islands Îles Glorieuses
Flag
Motto: Liberté, égalité, fraternité "Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood"
Anthem: La Marseillaise
Location of the Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean. 1. Bassas da India 2. Europa Island 3. Glorioso Islands 4. Juan de Nova Island 5. Tromelin Island KM=Comoros MG=Madagascar MU=Mauritius MZ=Mozambique RE=Réunion YT=Mayotte

The Glorieuses or Glorioso Islands (French: Îles Glorieuses or officially also Archipel des Glorieuses) are a group of French islands and rocks totalling 5 square kilometres (1,200 acres), at 11°33′S 47°20′E / 11.550°S 47.333°E / -11.550; 47.333Coordinates: 11°33′S 47°20′E / 11.550°S 47.333°E / -11.550; 47.333, in the Indian Ocean, about 160 kilometres (99 mi) northwest of Madagascar. In 2012, France founded parc naturel marin des Glorieuses, a marine protected area, to preserve the endangered flora and fauna of the islands. The Glorieuses have an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 48,350 square kilometres (18,670 sq mi). There are anchorages offshore, and Grande Glorieuse has a 1,300-metre (4,300 ft) long airstrip.

The archipelago consists of two islands, Grande Glorieuse (11°34′46.54″S 47°17′54.14″E / 11.5795944°S 47.2983722°E / -11.5795944; 47.2983722 (Grande Glorieuse)) and Île du Lys, as well as eight rock islets (Roches Vertes): Wreck Rock (11°30′45.19″S 47°22′54.17″E / 11.5125528°S 47.3817139°E / -11.5125528; 47.3817139 (Wreck Rock)), South Rock (11°35′43.76″S 47°18′6.66″E / 11.5954889°S 47.3018500°E / -11.5954889; 47.3018500 (South Rock)) and Verte Rocks (11°34′15.63″S 47°19′54.18″E / 11.5710083°S 47.3317167°E / -11.5710083; 47.3317167 (Verte Rocks)) and three others that are unnamed. They form part of a coral reef and lagoon. Grande Glorieuses is roughly circular and measures about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) across. It is thickly vegetated, mainly by the remains of a coconut plantation and casuarina trees.