Native name: قشم | |
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Map of Qeshm Island and surroundings, in French
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Geography | |
Location | Strait of Hormuz |
Coordinates | 26°41′43″N 55°37′06″E / 26.69528°N 55.61833°E |
Area | 1,491 km2 (576 sq mi) |
Length | 135 km (83.9 mi) |
Width | 40 km (25 mi) |
Administration | |
Province | Hormozgān |
County | Qeshm |
Bakhsh | Central |
Largest settlement | Qeshm (pop. 26 807) |
Demographics | |
Population | 117,774 (2011) |
Pop. density | 67.07 /km2 (173.71 /sq mi) |
Ethnic groups | Primarily Qeshmi, Minabi, Kumzari and Bandri Persian speaking Iranians and Iranian Arabs |
Coordinates: 26°41′43″N 55°37′06″E / 26.69528°N 55.61833°E
Qeshm (Persian: قشم, Persian pronunciation: [ɢeʃm]), formerly also known as Kishm, is an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, separated from the mainland by the Clarence Strait/Khuran in the Persian Gulf (26°50′N 56°0′E / 26.833°N 56.000°E).
Qeshm Island is located a few kilometers off the southern coast of Iran (Persian Gulf), opposite the port cities of Bandar Abbas and Bandar Khamir. The island, which hosts a 300-square-kilometre (116-square-mile) free zone jurisdiction, is 135 km long, and lies strategically in the Strait of Hormuz, just 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the Omani port of Khasab, and about 180 kilometres (112 miles) from the UAE Port Rashid. The island, at its widest point, located near the center of the island, spans 40 kilometres (25 miles). Similarly, at it narrowest point, the island spans 9.4 kilometres (5.8 miles). The island has a surface area of 1,491 square kilometres (576 square miles) and is 2.5 times the size of Bahrain. Qeshm city, located at the easternmost point of the island, is 22 kilometres (14 miles) from Bandar Abbas while the closest point of the island is but two kilometres (1 mile) from the mainland.