1.
Comoros archipelago
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The Comoros Islands or Comoros 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. Numerous peoples have crossed over and mixed, including those of Bantu, Malagasy, Indonesian, Arab, Portuguese, French, islam arrived in the 10th Century. 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 in 1505. In 1946, the islands were no longer attached to Madagascar. In 1974, France organized a referendum for self-determination in the archipelago in which the population except in Mayotte voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence, following the unilateral declaration of independence in 1975, France maintained sovereignty over Mayotte. The three remaining islands formed the Etat Comorian, which became the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoro Islands. In 1997, demands for increased autonomy on the islands of Nzwani, in 2001, the government reformed as the Union of the Comoros under a new constitution which gave each of the three islands more autonomy than had been enjoyed previously. In 2008, President of Anjouan refused to free elections. He was forced to flee following military intervention by troops of the Comorian Union, the island country continues its present form of confederal government albeit with minor changes approved in a 2009 referendum. Mayotte officially became Frances 101st department on 31 March 2011, on 30 June 2009, Yemenia Flight 626 crashed off the Comoro Islands. Out of 153 people, one girl survived. On Saturday,23 November 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 ditched into the Indian Ocean at the shore of the Comoros islands, after being hijacked by three young, 20-year-old men. After the Boeing 767-200 climbed to the altitude of 39,000 ft. Additionally, they claimed that they were eleven men and they forced the first officer Yonas Mecruria out of the cockpit. The hijackers refused to let the captain to land, although they knew that the fuel was about to run out, after a four-hour struggle with hijackers, the captain crash-landed his the plane in the Indian Ocean. Fifty people from the 175 passengers survived, while 125 people died, the majority of the fatalities resulted from passengers who blew up their life jacket inside of the aircraft and were pushed towards the fuselage when water entered the aircraft. They were unable to escape the aircraft and drowned, the Comoro Archipelago consists of volcanic islands
Comoros archipelago
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Comoro Islands
Comoros archipelago
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Jumbe-Souli, queen of the Comorian island of
Mohéli, receiving a French delegation, 1863.
Comoros archipelago
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Comorans protest
Mayotte referendum, 2009
Comoros archipelago
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Anjouan Island
2.
Mozambique Channel
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The Mozambique Channel is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about 1,600 km long and 419 km across at its narrowest point, a warm current, the Mozambique Current, flows in a southward direction in the channel, leading into the Agulhas Current off the east coast of South Africa. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Mozambique Channel as follows, a line from the estuary of the River Rovuma to Ras Habu, the Northern point of Ile Grande Comore, the Northern of the Comore Islands, to Cap dAmbre the Northern extremity of Madagascar. A line from Cap Sainte-Marie, the Southern extreme of Madagascar to Ponto do Ouro on the mainland. Despite being defined as the South African coast by the IHO, japanese Submarines at Madagascar and the Mozambique Channel Beach, Chandler B. ed. Mozambique Channel. Chicago, F. E. Compton and Co
Mozambique Channel
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Location of Mozambique Channel
3.
Mozambique
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It is separated from Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city is Maputo, between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, Bantu-speaking peoples migrated from farther north and west. Swahili commercial ports existed along the coasts until the arrival of Europeans, the area was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and colonised by Portugal from 1505. The country was an important place where Somali merchants enslaved the local population, after over four centuries of Portuguese rule, Mozambique gained independence in 1975, becoming the Peoples Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter. After only two years of independence, the country descended into an intense and protracted civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992, in 1994, Mozambique held its first multiparty elections and has remained a relatively stable presidential republic. However, since 2013, following more than 20 years of peace, Mozambique is one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world. Mozambique is endowed with rich and extensive natural resources, the countrys economy is based largely on agriculture, but industry is growing, mainly food and beverages, chemical manufacturing, and aluminium and petroleum production. The countrys tourism sector is also growing, South Africa is Mozambiques main trading partner and source of foreign direct investment. Belgium, Brazil, Portugal, and Spain are also among the countrys most important economic partners, since 2001, Mozambiques annual average GDP growth has been among the worlds highest. However, the ranks among the lowest in GDP per capita, human development, measures of inequality. The only official language of Mozambique is Portuguese, which is mostly as a second language by about half of the population. Common native languages include Makhuwa, Sena, and Swahili, the countrys population of around 24 million is composed overwhelmingly of Bantu people. The largest religion in Mozambique is Christianity, with significant minorities following Islam, the island-town was the capital of the Portuguese colony until 1898, when it was moved south to Lourenço Marques. Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, waves of Bantu-speaking people migrated from the west and north through the Zambezi River valley and then gradually into the plateau and they established agricultural communities or societies based on herding cattle. They brought with them the technology for smelting and smithing iron, from the late first millennium AD, vast Indian Ocean trade networks extended as far south into Mozambique as the ancient port town of Chibuene. Connections are evident at sites including Manyikeni for 11–14th century ties with the inland Great Zimbabwe kingdoms, from about 1500, Portuguese trading posts and forts displaced the Arabic commercial and military hegemony, becoming regular ports of call on the new European sea route to the east. The voyage of Vasco da Gama around the Cape of Good Hope in 1498 marked the Portuguese entry into trade, politics, the Portuguese attempted to legitimise and consolidate their trade and settlement positions through the creation of prazos tied to Portuguese settlement and administration. Historically within Mozambique there was slavery, Human beings were bought and sold by African tribal chiefs, Arab Muslim traders and Portuguese and other European traders as well
Mozambique
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Depiction of Arab slave traders and their captives along the Ruvuma river
Mozambique
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Flag
Mozambique
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The
Island of Mozambique is a small coral island at the mouth of Mossuril Bay on the
Nacala coast of northern Mozambique, first explored by Europeans in the late 15th century.
Mozambique
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Portuguese language printing and typesetting class, 1930
4.
Madagascar
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Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, and previously known as the Malagasy Republic, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Southeast Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar, and numerous smaller peripheral islands, consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot, over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The islands diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the growing human population. The first archaeological evidence for human foraging on Madagascar dates to 2000 BC, human settlement of Madagascar occurred between 350 BC and AD550 by Austronesian peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from Borneo. These were joined around AD1000 by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel from East Africa, other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is divided into 18 or more sub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands. Until the late 18th century, the island of Madagascar was ruled by an assortment of shifting sociopolitical alliances. Beginning in the early 19th century, most of the island was united and ruled as the Kingdom of Madagascar by a series of Merina nobles, the monarchy collapsed in 1897 when the island was absorbed into the French colonial empire, from which the island gained independence in 1960. The autonomous state of Madagascar has since undergone four major constitutional periods, since 1992, the nation has officially been governed as a constitutional democracy from its capital at Antananarivo. However, in an uprising in 2009, president Marc Ravalomanana was made to resign. Constitutional governance was restored in January 2014, when Hery Rajaonarimampianina was named president following a 2013 election deemed fair, Madagascar is a member of the United Nations, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the Southern African Development Community. Madagascar belongs to the group of least developed countries, according to the United Nations, Malagasy and French are both official languages of the state. The majority of the population adheres to traditional beliefs, Christianity, ecotourism and agriculture, paired with greater investments in education, health, and private enterprise, are key elements of Madagascars development strategy. As of 2017, the economy has been weakened by the 2009-2013 political crisis, in the Malagasy language, the island of Madagascar is called Madagasikara and its people are referred to as Malagasy. The islands appellation Madagascar is not of origin, but rather was popularized in the Middle Ages by Europeans. On St. Laurences Day in 1500, Portuguese explorer Diogo Dias landed on the island, polos name was preferred and popularized on Renaissance maps. At 592,800 square kilometres, Madagascar is the worlds 47th largest country, the country lies mostly between latitudes 12°S and 26°S, and longitudes 43°E and 51°E. Neighboring islands include the French territory of Réunion and the country of Mauritius to the east, as well as the state of Comoros, the nearest mainland state is Mozambique, located to the west
Madagascar
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The terraced paddy fields of the
central highlands of Madagascar (left) give way to tropical rainforest along the eastern coast (center) bordered by the shores of the
Indian Ocean (right).
Madagascar
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Flag
Madagascar
Madagascar
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The grassy plains that dominate the western landscape are dotted with stony massifs (left), patches of deciduous forest, and
baobab trees (center), while the south is characterized by desert and
spiny forests (right).
5.
Swahili language
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Swahili, also known as Kiswahili, is a Bantu language and the first language of the Swahili people. The closely related Comorian language, spoken in the Comoros Islands, is considered a dialect. Estimates of the number of Swahili speakers vary widely, from 50 million to over 100 million. Swahili serves as a language of three nations, Tanzania, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Shikomor, the language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte, is related to Swahili. Swahili is also one of the languages of the African Union. A significant fraction of Swahili vocabulary is derived from Arabic through contact with Arabic-speaking Muslim inhabitants of the Swahili Coast, Swahili is traditionally regarded as being the language of coastal areas of Tanzania and Kenya. It was formalised after independence by presidents of the African Great Lakes region and it spread as a fishermans language to the various islands surrounding the Swahili Coast. Traders from these islands had extensive contact with the peoples from at least the 2nd century A. D. There is also evidence of early Zaramo people settlement on Zanzibar from Dar es Salaam in present-day Tanzania. Clove farmers from Oman and the Persian Gulf farmed the Zanzibar Archipelago, the earliest known documents written in Swahili are letters written in Kilwa in 1711 A. D. in the Arabic script that were sent to the Portuguese of Mozambique and their local allies. The original letters are now preserved in the Historical Archives of Goa, the British did not do so in neighbouring Kenya even though they made moves in that direction. Swahili was the only candidate in the two colonies. In the aftermath of Germanys defeat in the First World War, Swahili was to be subordinate to English, university education, much secondary education and governance at the highest levels would be conducted in English. One key step in spreading Swahili was to create a written language. In June 1928, a conference took place at Mombasa, at which the Zanzibar dialect. Swahili has become a language spoken by tens of millions in three African Great Lakes countries where it is an official or national language. In 2016 it was made a subject in all Kenyan schools
Swahili language
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Although originally written with the
Arabic script, Swahili is now written in a
Latin alphabet that was introduced by
Christian missionaries and colonial administrators. The text shown here is the Catholic version of the
Lord's Prayer.
Swahili language
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Coastal areas where Swahili or Comorian is the indigenous language,
Swahili language
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Swahili Arabic script on a one-pysar coin from
Zanzibar circa 1299 AH (1882 AD)
Swahili language
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Swahili Arabic script on a carved wooden door (open) at
Lamu in
Kenya
6.
Grande Comore
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Grande Comore is an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation, most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population as of 2006 is about 316,600, the islands capital is Moroni, which is also the national capital. The island is made up of two volcanoes, with Mount Karthala being the countrys highest point at 2,361 m above sea level. According to the 2009 revision of the constitution of 2002, it is governed by an elected Governor, as are the other islands, the name Ngazidja is sometimes seen in the incorrect form Njazidja. For several centuries, Grande Comore was divided into a number of sultanates, including Bambao, Itsandra, Mitsamihuli, Mbajini, Hambuu, Washili, Hamahame, Mbwankuu, Mbude, the sultans were also known as mfaume. In 1886, the ruler of Bambao, Sultan Said Ali bin Said Omar declared a state of Ngazidja, usurping the other sultanates, in 1893, Sultan Said Ali was sent into exile on Réunion. In 1908, France annexed the island and the sultanates were abolished, in 1975, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli declared independence as the nation of Comoros. Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 crashed off the coast of Grande Comore on November 23,1996, in 1997, the Comoros nation began to fall apart as Anjouan and Moheli seceded. Grande Comore became the island under federal control. By 2002, however, Grande Comore was reunited with the islands under the new constitution. Abdou Soule Elbak was elected President of Grande Comore in May 2002 and he received only 17% of the vote in the first round, coming in first place, and received 60% of the vote in the runoff. He remained in his post until the July 2007 elections, at which point Mohamed Abdoulwahab won the islands presidency, prince Said Ibrahim International Airport serves the island. Media related to Grande Comore at Wikimedia Commons Comoros Island election information
Grande Comore
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Grande Comore Harbor Bay.
Grande Comore
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Flag
Grande Comore
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Sultan Said Ali bin Said Omar of Grande Comore (1897).
7.
Anjouan
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Anjouan is an autonomous island in the Indian Ocean that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. Its chief town is Mutsamudu and, as of 2006, its population is around 277,500, the total area of the island is 424 square kilometers. The first inhabitants of the island were explorers and immigrants from Indonesia and Polynesia, after that people all around the Indian Ocean began to come to Anjouan and the Comoro Islands. In about 1500, the Sultanate of Ndzuwani was founded, which took over the entire island, the sultanate was the most powerful of all the Comorian sultanates. In 1816, Sultan Alawi bin Husein requested French assistance against the Sultanate of Zanzibar which was threatening his domain, the island came under French protection in 1886. France abolished slavery in then-Ndzuwani in 1899, and formally annexed it in 1912, the strictly republican annexation was opposed by the last reigning sultan but his meager forces were crushed when they offered resistance. John Mucknell marooned his enemies on Anjouan in 1644 and his ship, the John, was owned by the East India Company, but after ridding himself of opposition in this manner, he turned pirate and returned to Britain. Anjouan joined the State of Comoros when it became independent in 1975, in 1997, the islands of Anjouan and Mohéli seceded from the Comoros. On 3 August 1997, Anjouan declared itself the independent State of Anjouan with Foundi Abdallah Ibrahim as president, an independence referendum was subsequently held in October, with over 99% voting in favour. The island then asked to be integrated again into the French Republic, a constitution was adopted for Anjouan in a referendum on 25 February 1998. In 1999, Anjouan had internal conflicts and on 1 August of that year, the government was overthrown in a coup by army and navy officers on 9 August 2001. Mohamed Bacar soon rose to leadership of the junta took over. Despite two coup attempts in the three months, including one by Abeid, Bacar’s government remained in power, and was apparently more willing to negotiate with Comoros. Bacar was elected for a 5-year term as President of the island of Anjouan and his term expired on 14 April 2007 and the president of the assembly, Houmadi Caambi, became acting president from 15 April until he was overthrown by forces loyal to Bacar on 10 May. Peace talks were held between the government and the regime in Anjouan and agreed to hold free elections in which Mohamed Bacar would stand. Although the Union government delayed the election - citing alleged irregularities and intimidation — Bacar unilaterally printed ballots, the result, due to electoral fraud, was an overwhelming victory of 90 percent. In July 2007, he again declared the island of Anjouan to be independent of the Comoros. In February 2008, the Comoros rejected the African Unions extended sanctions against Anjouan, in early March, the Comoros armed forces and around 400 international reinforcements from the African Union assembled on the island of Mohéli
Anjouan
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Flag
8.
Mayotte
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Mayotte is an insular department and region of France officially named Département de Mayotte. It consists of an island, Grande-Terre, a smaller island, Petite-Terre. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Southeast Africa, the department status of Mayotte is recent and the region remains the poorest in France. Mayotte is nevertheless much more prosperous than the countries of the Mozambique Channel. Mayottes area is 374 square kilometres and, with its 212,645 people, is densely populated at 569 per km². The biggest city and prefecture is Mamoudzou on Grande-Terre, however, the Dzaoudzi–Pamandzi International Airport is located on the neighbouring island of Petite-Terre. The territory is part of the Comoro Islands. The territory is known as Maore, the native name of its main island. The language of the majority is Shimaore, a Bantu language variety closely related to the varieties in the neighbouring Comoros islands, the second most widely spoken native language is Kibushi, a Malagasy language variety most closely related to the Sakalava dialect of Malagasy with influences from Shimaore. The vast majority of the population is Muslim, the island was populated from neighbouring East Africa with later arrival of Arabs, who brought the Islamic religion. A sultanate was established in 1500, the people of Mayotte voted to remain politically a part of France in the 1974 referendum. The term Mayotte may refer to all of the islands, of which the largest is known as Maore and includes Maores surrounding islands, most notably Pamanzi. The main island, Grande-Terre, geologically the oldest of the Comoro Islands, is 39 kilometres long and 22 kilometres wide, because of the volcanic rock, the soil is relatively rich in some areas. A coral reef encircling much of the island ensures protection for ships, Dzaoudzi was the capital of Mayotte until 1977. It is situated on Petite-Terre, which at 10 square kilometres is the largest of several islets adjacent to Maore, in 1500, the Maore or Mawuti sultanate was established on the island. In 1503, Mayotte was observed by Portuguese explorers, but not colonized, in 1832, Mayotte was conquered by Andriantsoly, former king of Iboina on Madagascar, in 1833, it was conquered by the neighbouring sultanate of Mwali. On 19 November 1835, Mayotte was again conquered by the Ndzuwani Sultanate, however, in 1836 it regained its independence under a last local Sultan. Mayotte was purchased by France in 1841 and it was the only island in the archipelago that voted in referendums in 1974 and 1976 to retain its link with France and forgo independence
Mayotte
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Beach scenery in Mayotte.
Mayotte
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Flag
Mayotte
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Sea near
Mamoudzou.
Mayotte
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A view of
Sada including mosque.
9.
Mount Karthala
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Mount Karthala or Karthola is an active volcano and the highest point of the Comoros at 2,361 m above sea level. It is the southernmost and larger of the two shield volcanoes forming Grande Comore island, the largest island in the nation of Comoros, the Karthala volcano is very active, having erupted more than 20 times since the 19th century. Frequent eruptions have shaped the volcano’s 3 km by 4 km summit caldera, eruptions on April 17,2005 and May 29,2006 ended a period of quiet. The eruption, which carried a risk of lava flows and deadly volcanic gas, the crater was clearly changed by the April 2005 eruption. A grey field of ash surrounds the crater and the caldera itself seems larger and deeper, the crater lake, which formed after Karthalas last eruption in 1991 and once dominated the caldera, is now gone completely. In its place were rough, dark grey rocks, possibly cooling lava or rubble from the collapsed crater, on May 29, Reuters reported that residents of Moroni could see lava at the top of the volcano. Within a few days the volcanic activity subsided, the mountain is covered by moist evergreen forest up to about 1800 metres above sea-level. Higher up the consists of stunted trees and heathland where the giant heath Erica comorensis grows. The mountains forest is threatened by logging and the spread of agriculture, a nature reserve has been proposed to cover the mountain, it has not yet been created
Mount Karthala
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Karthala volcano crater in November 2006
Mount Karthala
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Satellite image of Karthala volcano after its November 2005 eruption. Ash completely obscures Grande Comore (outlined) as well as some other islands.
10.
Somali plate
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The Somali Plate, or Somalian Plate, is a minor tectonic plate, which straddles the equator in the eastern hemisphere. The Somali Plate formed between 60 million years ago and 10 million years ago by the rifting of the African Plate along the East African Rift. Because the East Africa Rift separates the continent into two plates, the African Plate west of the rift is sometimes referred to as the Nubian Plate, the northern boundary is the Aden Ridge along the coast of Saudi Arabia. The eastern boundary is the Central Indian Ridge, the portion of which is also known as the Carlsberg Ridge. The southern boundary is the Southwest Indian Ridge, dating of volcanism in the Comoro Islands and northern Madagascar volcanoes indicates a rate of motion to the east over a hotspot of approximately 45 mm/yr. Emerick, C. M.1985, Age progressive volcanism in the Comores Archipelago and Northern Madagascar, corvallis, PhD Thesis, Abstract Chorowicz, Jean
Somali plate
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Somali Plate
11.
Geographic coordinates
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinates
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
12.
Coral reef
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Coral reefs are diverse underwater ecosystems held together by calcium carbonate structures secreted by corals. Coral reefs are built by colonies of tiny animals found in waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups, the polyps belong to a group of animals known as Cnidaria, which also includes sea anemones and jellyfish. Unlike sea anemones, corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons which support, most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated waters. Often called rainforests of the sea, shallow coral reefs form some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, paradoxically, coral reefs flourish even though they are surrounded by ocean waters that provide few nutrients. They are most commonly found at depths in tropical waters. Coral reefs deliver ecosystem services to tourism, fisheries and shoreline protection, the annual global economic value of coral reefs is estimated between US$29. 8-375 billion. However, coral reefs are fragile ecosystems, partly because they are sensitive to water temperature. Most of the coral reefs we can see today were formed after the last glacial period when melting ice caused the sea level to rise and this means that most modern coral reefs are less than 10,000 years old. As communities established themselves on the shelves, the reefs grew upwards, Reefs that rose too slowly could become drowned reefs. They are covered by so much water there was insufficient light. Coral reefs are found in the sea away from continental shelves, around oceanic islands. The vast majority of islands are volcanic in origin. The few exceptions have tectonic origins where plate movements have lifted the deep ocean floor on the surface. In 1842 in his first monograph, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, Charles Darwin set out his theory of the formation of atoll reefs and he theorized uplift and subsidence of the Earths crust under the oceans formed the atolls. Darwin’s theory sets out a sequence of three stages in atoll formation and it starts with a fringing reef forming around an extinct volcanic island as the island and ocean floor subsides. As the subsidence continues, the reef becomes a barrier reef. Darwin predicted that underneath each lagoon would be a bed rock base, where the level of the underlying earth allows, the corals grow around the coast to form what he called fringing reefs, and can eventually grow out from the shore to become a barrier reef
Coral reef
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Biodiversity of a coral reef
Coral reef
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A small
atoll in the
Maldives
Coral reef
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Inhabited
cay in the
Maldives
Coral reef
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The three major zones of a coral reef: the fore reef, reef crest, and the back reef
13.
Mutsamudu
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Mutsamudu is the second largest city in the Comoros, founded in 1482. It is also the capital and largest city on the island of Anjouan as well the home of former Comorian president Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi. It now houses a water port, an ancient citadel. Mutsamudu has two main streets. The medina from the 15th century is located between them, the citadel was constructed in 1860 with help of the British to protect the city from pirates. It was badly damaged in 1950 at the landfall of a cyclone, the main temperature range extends from 27°C to 32 °C throughout the year. The hottest period in Mutsamudu is from the month of December to the month of April, comparatively cooler weather is experienced from the month of May to the month of November. There is significant rainfall in most months of the year, wettest month is January, the entire Comoros islands are regularly swept by violent winds and sometimes by tropical cyclones with significant human and material damage. The most important of tropic cyclones recorded in Comoros occurred in 1950, Cyclone Elinah in 1983 and Cyclone Feliksa killed a few people but affected thousands of peoples lives. Mutsamudu is the deep water port of the Union of Comoros. Three quarters of its cargo consists of transhipment for containerized cargoes destined to the two other islands, the main import products shipped from the port are rice, cement, sugar, flour and petroleum products. Main export products are Ylang Ylang, cloves and vanilla
Mutsamudu
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Mutsamudu
14.
Coelacanth
–
They follow the oldest known living lineage of Sarcopterygii, which means they are more closely related to lungfish, reptiles and mammals than to the common ray-finned fishes. They are found along the coastlines of the Indian Ocean and Indonesia, since there are only two species of coelacanth and both are threatened, it is the most endangered order of animals in the world. The West Indian Ocean coelacanth is a endangered species. Coelacanths belong to the subclass Actinistia, a group of lobed-finned fish related to lungfish and certain extinct Devonian fish such as osteolepiforms, porolepiforms, rhizodonts, and Panderichthys. Coelacanths were thought to have become extinct in the Late Cretaceous, around 66 million years ago, however, several recent studies have shown that coelacanth body shapes are much more diverse than previously thought. The word Coelacanth is an adaptation of the Modern Latin Cœlacanthus and it is a common name for the oldest living line of Sarcopterygii, referring to the hollow caudal fin rays of the first fossil specimen described and named by Louis Agassiz in 1839. The genus name Latimeria commemorates Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer who discovered the first specimen in a fish market, the coelacanth, which is related to lungfishes and tetrapods, was believed to have been extinct since the end of the Cretaceous period. More closely related to tetrapods than to the fish, coelacanths were considered transitional species between fish and tetrapods. On 23 December 1938, the first Latimeria specimen was found off the east coast of South Africa, Museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer discovered the fish among the catch of a local angler, Captain Hendrick Goosen. A Rhodes University ichthyologist, J. L. B, smith, confirmed the fishs importance with a famous cable, MOST IMPORTANT PRESERVE SKELETON AND GILLS = FISH DESCRIBED. Since 1938, Latimeria chalumnae have been found in the Comoros, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, only a photograph of the first specimen of this species was made at a local market by Erdmann and his wife Arnaz Mehta before it was bought by a shopper. The coelacanth has no commercial value apart from being coveted by museums. As a food fish it is almost worthless, as its tissues exude oils that give the flesh a foul flavor, the coelacanths continued survival may be threatened by commercial deep-sea trawling, in which coelacanths are caught as bycatch. Coelacanths are a part of the clade Sarcopterygii, or the lobe-finned fishes, externally, several characteristics distinguish the coelacanth from other lobe-finned fish. They possess a three-lobed caudal fin, also called a fin or a diphycercal tail. A secondary tail extending past the tail separates the upper and lower halves of the coelacanth. Cosmoid scales act as armor to protect the coelacanths exterior. Several internal traits also aid in differentiating coelacanths from other lobe-finned fish, at the back of the skull, the coelacanth possesses a hinge, the intracranial joint, which allows it to open its mouth extremely wide
Coelacanth
Coelacanth
–
Reconstruction of
West Indian Ocean coelacanth.
Coelacanth
–
Preserved Latimeria menadoensis, Tokyo Sea Life Park (Kasai Rinkai Suizokuen), Japan
Coelacanth
–
West Indian Ocean coelacanth caught on 21 January 1965, near Mutsamudu (Anjouan, Comoro Islands).
15.
Common brown lemur
–
The Brown Lemur, is a species of lemur in the family Lemuridae. It is found in Madagascar and Mayotte and they also live on the island of Mayotte, although this population is believed to have been introduced there by man. The common brown lemur has a length of 84 to 101 centimeters. Weight ranges from 2 to 3 kilograms, the short, dense fur is primarily brown or grey-brown. The face, muzzle and crown are dark grey or black with paler patches. Similar lemur species within their range include the mongoose lemur, E. mongoz, in the west and they can be distinguished from these species by the fact that E. mongoz is more of a grey color and E. rubriventer is more reddish. There is also overlap with the black lemur in northeast Madagascar in the Galoko, Manongarivo. There is also overlap and hybridization with the white-fronted brown lemur, E. albifrons, the common brown lemurs diet consists primarily of fruits, young leaves, and flowers. In some locations it eats invertebrates, such as cicadas, spiders and it also eats bark, sap, soil and red clay. It can tolerate levels of toxic compounds from plants than other lemurs can. Consistent with its range, the common brown lemur occupies a variety of forest types, including lowland rainforests, montane rainforests, moist evergreen forests. They spend about 95% of their time in layers of the forest. They normally live in groups of 5 to 12, but group size can be larger, groups occupy home ranges of 1 to 9 hectares in the west, but more than 20 hectares in the east. Groups include members of both sexes, including juveniles, and there are no dominance hierarchies. They are primarily active during the day, but can exhibit cathemeral activity and continue into the night, especially during full moons, in the western part of its range, the common brown lemur overlaps that of the mongoose lemur, and the two species sometimes travel together. In the areas of overlap, the two species also adapt their activity patterns to avoid conflict, for example, the Mongoose Lemur can become primarily nocturnal during the dry season in the areas of overlap. At Berenty there is a population of introduced E. fulvus rufus x collaris and these lemurs show linear hierarchy, adult female dominance, and the presence of conciliatory behavior after aggressions. Additionally, stress levels decrease at the increase of the position of individuals within the social group
Common brown lemur
–
Common brown lemur
16.
Mongoose lemur
–
The mongoose lemur is a small primate in the Lemuridae family, native to Madagascar and the Comoros Islands. These arboreal animals have pointed faces, long tails, dark brown upper parts, pale bellies and a beard. They live in groups and feed primarily on fruits, but also eat leaves, flowers and nectar. They have declined sharply in numbers because of destruction and hunting. The mongoose lemur ranges in size from 12 to 18 inches long plus a tail of 16 to 25 inches, both sexes are born with white beards, but become obviously dimorphic at about six weeks of age when the males develop red beards and red cheeks. The males also have lighter faces than the females, males may further distinguish themselves when scent-marking territory, as they occasionally develop a bald patch on top of the head from rubbing. The mongoose lemur lives in dry forests on the island of Madagascar as well as in the humid forests on the islands of the Comoros. This makes the mongoose lemur one of only two found outside of Madagascar, though it is believed to be an introduced species in the Comoros. The mongoose lemur mostly eats fruit, though flowers, leaves, as such, mongoose lemurs act as both pollinators and seed dispersers, but may use the nectar of the kapok tree for nearly 80% of their diet in some parts of their range during the dry season. Feeding on grubs and beetles has also been observed, mongoose lemurs are arboreal, with the ability to jump several meters from one tree to another. They live in family groups, usually consisting of a bonded pair and 1 to 3 offspring. These groups rarely encounter one another, but when they do, young are born just prior to the rainy season, from August to October. Gestation lasts approximately four months and weaning takes place five months after the young are born. The offspring then usually stay with their parents until three years of age, when they have reached full maturity, captive mongoose lemurs can live up to 26 years, while wild specimens live 18–20 years. Mongoose lemurs in the wild are threatened by the destruction and fragmentation of the forests in which they live and their numbers have dwindled by about 80% over a period of 25 years, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated their conservation status as critically endangered
Mongoose lemur
–
Mongoose lemur
Mongoose lemur
–
Male below, female above
Mongoose lemur
–
Female Mongoose lemur at
Lemurs' Park
17.
Kerosene
–
Kerosene, also known as paraffin, lamp oil and coal oil, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum, widely used as a fuel in industry as well as households. Its name derives from Greek, κηρός meaning wax, and was registered as a trademark by Abraham Gesner in 1854 before evolving into a genericized trademark and it is sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage. Liquid paraffin is a more viscous and highly refined product which is used as a laxative, paraffin wax is a waxy solid extracted from petroleum. Kerosene is widely used to power jet engines of aircraft and some rocket engines, in parts of Asia, where the price of kerosene is subsidized, it fuels outboard motors on small fishing boats. World total kerosene consumption for all purposes is equivalent to about 1.2 million barrels per day, to prevent confusion between kerosene and the much more flammable and volatile gasoline, some jurisdictions regulate markings or colorings for containers used to store or dispense kerosene. For example, in the United States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires that portable containers used at retail service stations be colored blue and it is miscible in petroleum solvents but immiscible in water. The American Society for Testing and Materials standard specification D-3699-78 recognizes two grades of kerosene, grades 1-K and 2-K, regardless of crude oil source or processing history, kerosenes major components are branched and straight chain alkanes and naphthenes, which normally account for at least 70% by volume. Aromatic hydrocarbons in this range, such as alkylbenzenes and alkylnaphthalenes. Olefins are usually not present at more than 5% by volume, the flash point of kerosene is between 37 and 65 °C, and its autoignition temperature is 220 °C. The pour point of kerosene depends on grade, with aviation fuel standardized at −47 °C. 1-K grade kerosene freezes around -40 °C, heat of combustion of kerosene is similar to that of diesel fuel, its lower heating value is 43.1 MJ/kg, and its higher heating value is 46.2 MJ/kg. In the United Kingdom, two grades of heating oil are defined, BS2869 Class C1 is the lightest grade used for lanterns, camping stoves, wick heaters, and mixed with gasoline in some vintage combustion engines as a substitute for tractor vaporising oil. BS2869 Class C2 is a heavier distillate, which is used as heating oil. Premium kerosene is sold in 5 or 20 liter containers from hardware, camping. Standard kerosene is usually dispensed in bulk by a tanker and is undyed, National and international standards define the properties of several grades of kerosene used for jet fuel. Flash point and freezing point properties are of particular interest for operation and safety, the process of distilling crude oil/petroleum into kerosene, as well as other hydrocarbon compounds, was first written about in the 9th century by the Persian scholar Rāzi. In his Kitab al-Asrar, the physician and chemist Razi described two methods for the production of kerosene, termed naft abyad, using an apparatus called an alembic, one method used clay as an absorbent, whereas the other method used ammonium chloride. The distillation process was repeated until all most of the volatile hydrocarbon fractions had been removed, Kerosene was also produced during the same period from oil shale and bitumen by heating the rock to extract the oil, which was then distilled
Kerosene
–
An Australian kerosene bottle, containing blue-dyed kerosene
Kerosene
–
Persian scholar
Rāzi (or Rhazes) was the first to distill kerosene in the 9th century
Kerosene
–
A queue for kerosene. Moscow, Russia, 1920s
Kerosene
–
A truck delivering kerosene in Japan
18.
Comoro Islands
–
The Comoros Islands or Comoros 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. Numerous peoples have crossed over and mixed, including those of Bantu, Malagasy, Indonesian, Arab, Portuguese, French, islam arrived in the 10th Century. 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 in 1505. In 1946, the islands were no longer attached to Madagascar. In 1974, France organized a referendum for self-determination in the archipelago in which the population except in Mayotte voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence, following the unilateral declaration of independence in 1975, France maintained sovereignty over Mayotte. The three remaining islands formed the Etat Comorian, which became the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoro Islands. In 1997, demands for increased autonomy on the islands of Nzwani, in 2001, the government reformed as the Union of the Comoros under a new constitution which gave each of the three islands more autonomy than had been enjoyed previously. In 2008, President of Anjouan refused to free elections. He was forced to flee following military intervention by troops of the Comorian Union, the island country continues its present form of confederal government albeit with minor changes approved in a 2009 referendum. Mayotte officially became Frances 101st department on 31 March 2011, on 30 June 2009, Yemenia Flight 626 crashed off the Comoro Islands. Out of 153 people, one girl survived. On Saturday,23 November 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 ditched into the Indian Ocean at the shore of the Comoros islands, after being hijacked by three young, 20-year-old men. After the Boeing 767-200 climbed to the altitude of 39,000 ft. Additionally, they claimed that they were eleven men and they forced the first officer Yonas Mecruria out of the cockpit. The hijackers refused to let the captain to land, although they knew that the fuel was about to run out, after a four-hour struggle with hijackers, the captain crash-landed his the plane in the Indian Ocean. Fifty people from the 175 passengers survived, while 125 people died, the majority of the fatalities resulted from passengers who blew up their life jacket inside of the aircraft and were pushed towards the fuselage when water entered the aircraft. They were unable to escape the aircraft and drowned, the Comoro Archipelago consists of volcanic islands
Comoro Islands
–
Comoro Islands
Comoro Islands
–
Jumbe-Souli, queen of the Comorian island of
Mohéli, receiving a French delegation, 1863.
Comoro Islands
–
Comorans protest
Mayotte referendum, 2009
Comoro Islands
–
Anjouan Island
19.
Peninsula
–
A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on the majority of its border, while being connected to a mainland from which it extends out. Examples include the upper and lower peninsulas of the state of Michigan, the surrounding water is usually understood to be continuous, though not necessarily named as a single body of water. Peninsulas are not always named as such, one can also be a headland, cape, island promontory, bill, point, a point is generally considered a tapering piece of land projecting into a body of water that is less prominent than a cape. A river which courses through a very tight meander is also said to form a peninsula within the loop of water. In English, the plural of peninsula is peninsulas or, less commonly, peninsulas can be found on coastlines and in smaller bodies of water throughout the world, ranging in scale from square meters to millions of square kilometers. Theres the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe, and in Southern Europe theres the Iberian Peninsula, the Italian Peninsula, south America has the Brunswick Peninsula, and Antarctica has the Antarctic Peninsula. In Africa, theres the Horn of Africa, and in Australia, asia has the 3 largest peninsulas in the world, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Peninsula, and the Indochinese Peninsula
Peninsula
–
The world's largest peninsula, the
Arabian Peninsula
Peninsula
–
Baja California Peninsula,
Mexico
Peninsula
–
A beach on the Mornington Peninsula
Peninsula
–
NASA satellite photo of
Otago Peninsula and
Otago Harbour. The city of
Dunedin is located at the
isthmus at lower left.
20.
Indian Ocean
–
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the worlds oceanic divisions, covering 70,560,000 km2. It is bounded by Asia on the north, on the west by Africa, on the east by Australia, the Indian Ocean is known as Ratnākara, the mine of gems in ancient Sanskrit literature, and as Hind Mahāsāgar, in Hindi. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30° north in the Persian Gulf, the oceans continental shelves are narrow, averaging 200 kilometres in width. An exception is found off Australias western coast, where the width exceeds 1,000 kilometres. The average depth of the ocean is 3,890 m and its deepest point is Diamantina Deep in Diamantina Trench, at 8,047 m deep, Sunda Trench has a depth of 7, 258–7,725 m. North of 50° south latitude, 86% of the basin is covered by pelagic sediments. The remaining 14% is layered with terrigenous sediments, glacial outwash dominates the extreme southern latitudes. The major choke points include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, the Lombok Strait, the Strait of Malacca, the Indian Ocean is artificially connected to the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal, which is accessible via the Red Sea. All of the Indian Ocean is in the Eastern Hemisphere and the centre of the Eastern Hemisphere is in this ocean, marginal seas, gulfs, bays and straits of the Indian Ocean include, The climate north of the equator is affected by a monsoon climate. Strong north-east winds blow from October until April, from May until October south, in the Arabian Sea the violent Monsoon brings rain to the Indian subcontinent. In the southern hemisphere, the winds are milder. When the monsoon winds change, cyclones sometimes strike the shores of the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean is the warmest ocean in the world. Long-term ocean temperature records show a rapid, continuous warming in the Indian Ocean, Indian Ocean warming is the largest among the tropical oceans, and about 3 times faster than the warming observed in the Pacific. Research indicates that human induced greenhouse warming, and changes in the frequency, among the few large rivers flowing into the Indian Ocean are the Zambezi, Shatt al-Arab, Indus, Godavari, Krishna, Narmada, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Jubba and Irrawaddy River. The oceans currents are controlled by the monsoon. Two large gyres, one in the northern hemisphere flowing clockwise and one south of the equator moving anticlockwise, during the winter monsoon, however, currents in the north are reversed. Deep water circulation is controlled primarily by inflows from the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, north of 20° south latitude the minimum surface temperature is 22 °C, exceeding 28 °C to the east. Southward of 40° south latitude, temperatures drop quickly, surface water salinity ranges from 32 to 37 parts per 1000, the highest occurring in the Arabian Sea and in a belt between southern Africa and south-western Australia
Indian Ocean
–
The economically important
Silk Road (red) and spice
trade routes (blue) were blocked by the
Ottoman Empire in ca. 1453 with the fall of the
Byzantine Empire. This spurred exploration, and a new sea route around Africa was found, triggering the
Age of Discovery.
Indian Ocean
–
Extent of the Indian Ocean according to the
CIA World Factbook
Indian Ocean
–
British heavy cruisers
Dorsetshire and
Cornwall under Japanese air attack and heavily damaged on 5 April 1942
Indian Ocean
–
A
dhow off the coast of Kenya
21.
Karthala
–
Mount Karthala or Karthola is an active volcano and the highest point of the Comoros at 2,361 m above sea level. It is the southernmost and larger of the two shield volcanoes forming Grande Comore island, the largest island in the nation of Comoros, the Karthala volcano is very active, having erupted more than 20 times since the 19th century. Frequent eruptions have shaped the volcano’s 3 km by 4 km summit caldera, eruptions on April 17,2005 and May 29,2006 ended a period of quiet. The eruption, which carried a risk of lava flows and deadly volcanic gas, the crater was clearly changed by the April 2005 eruption. A grey field of ash surrounds the crater and the caldera itself seems larger and deeper, the crater lake, which formed after Karthalas last eruption in 1991 and once dominated the caldera, is now gone completely. In its place were rough, dark grey rocks, possibly cooling lava or rubble from the collapsed crater, on May 29, Reuters reported that residents of Moroni could see lava at the top of the volcano. Within a few days the volcanic activity subsided, the mountain is covered by moist evergreen forest up to about 1800 metres above sea-level. Higher up the consists of stunted trees and heathland where the giant heath Erica comorensis grows. The mountains forest is threatened by logging and the spread of agriculture, a nature reserve has been proposed to cover the mountain, it has not yet been created
Karthala
–
Karthala volcano crater in November 2006
Karthala
–
Satellite image of Karthala volcano after its November 2005 eruption. Ash completely obscures Grande Comore (outlined) as well as some other islands.
22.
Cyclone
–
In meteorology, a cyclone is a large scale air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure. A cyclone differs from a hurricane or typhoon only on the basis of location, a hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, and a cyclone occurs in the south Pacific or Indian Ocean. Cyclones are characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate about a zone of low pressure, the largest low-pressure systems are polar vortices and extratropical cyclones of the largest scale. Warm-core cyclones such as cyclones and subtropical cyclones also lie within the synoptic scale. Mesocyclones, tornadoes and dust devils lie within the smaller mesoscale, Upper level cyclones can exist without the presence of a surface low, and can pinch off from the base of the Tropical Upper Tropospheric Trough during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Cyclones have also seen on extraterrestrial planets, such as Mars. Cyclogenesis describes the process of formation and intensification. Extratropical cyclones begin as waves in large regions of enhanced mid-latitude temperature contrasts called baroclinic zones and these zones contract and form weather fronts as the cyclonic circulation closes and intensifies. Later in their cycle, extratropical cyclones occlude as cold air masses undercut the warmer air. A cyclones track is guided over the course of its 2 to 6 day life cycle by the flow of the subtropical jet stream. Weather fronts mark the boundary between two masses of air of different temperature, humidity, and densities, and are associated with the most prominent meteorological phenomena. Strong cold fronts typically feature narrow bands of thunderstorms and severe weather, such fronts form west of the circulation center and generally move from west to east, warm fronts form east of the cyclone center and are usually preceded by stratiform precipitation and fog. Warm fronts move poleward ahead of the cyclone path, occluded fronts form late in the cyclone life cycle near the center of the cyclone and often wrap around the storm center. Tropical cyclogenesis describes the process of development of tropical cyclones, Tropical cyclones form due to latent heat driven by significant thunderstorm activity, and are warm core. Cyclones can transition between extratropical, subtropical, and tropical phases, mesocyclones form as warm core cyclones over land, and can lead to tornado formation. Waterspouts can also form from mesocyclones, but more often develop from environments of high instability, henry Piddington published almost 40 papers dealing with tropical storms from Calcutta between 1835 and 1855 in The Journal of the Asiatic Society. He also coined the term cyclone, meaning the coil of a snake, in 1842, he published his landmark thesis, Laws of the Storms. There are a number of characteristics common to all cyclones
Cyclone
–
An extratropical cyclone near Iceland on September 4, 2003
Cyclone
–
Polar low over the
Barents Sea on February 27, 1987
Cyclone
–
Subtropical Storm Andrea in
2007
Cyclone
–
Cyclone Catarina, a rare
South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the
International Space Station on March 26, 2004
23.
Grand Comore
–
Grande Comore is an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation, most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population as of 2006 is about 316,600, the islands capital is Moroni, which is also the national capital. The island is made up of two volcanoes, with Mount Karthala being the countrys highest point at 2,361 m above sea level. According to the 2009 revision of the constitution of 2002, it is governed by an elected Governor, as are the other islands, the name Ngazidja is sometimes seen in the incorrect form Njazidja. For several centuries, Grande Comore was divided into a number of sultanates, including Bambao, Itsandra, Mitsamihuli, Mbajini, Hambuu, Washili, Hamahame, Mbwankuu, Mbude, the sultans were also known as mfaume. In 1886, the ruler of Bambao, Sultan Said Ali bin Said Omar declared a state of Ngazidja, usurping the other sultanates, in 1893, Sultan Said Ali was sent into exile on Réunion. In 1908, France annexed the island and the sultanates were abolished, in 1975, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli declared independence as the nation of Comoros. Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 crashed off the coast of Grande Comore on November 23,1996, in 1997, the Comoros nation began to fall apart as Anjouan and Moheli seceded. Grande Comore became the island under federal control. By 2002, however, Grande Comore was reunited with the islands under the new constitution. Abdou Soule Elbak was elected President of Grande Comore in May 2002 and he received only 17% of the vote in the first round, coming in first place, and received 60% of the vote in the runoff. He remained in his post until the July 2007 elections, at which point Mohamed Abdoulwahab won the islands presidency, prince Said Ibrahim International Airport serves the island. Media related to Grande Comore at Wikimedia Commons Comoros Island election information
Grand Comore
–
Grande Comore Harbor Bay.
Grand Comore
–
Flag
Grand Comore
–
Sultan Said Ali bin Said Omar of Grande Comore (1897).
24.
Soil degradation
–
Soil retrogression and degradation are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a stable soil. Retrogression is primarily due to erosion and corresponds to a phenomenon where succession reverts the land to its natural physical state. Degradation is an evolution, different from natural evolution, related to the local climate and it is due to the replacement of primary plant communities by the secondary communities. This replacement modifies the humus composition and amount, and affects the formation of the soil and it is directly related to human activity. Soil degradation may also be viewed as any change or ecological disturbance to the soil perceived to be deleterious or undesirable, at the beginning of soil formation, the bare rock out crops is gradually colonized by pioneer species. They are succeeded by herbaceous vegetation, shrubs and finally forest, in parallel, the first humus-bearing horizon is formed, followed by some mineral horizons. Each successive stage is characterized by an association of soil/vegetation and environment. After a certain time of parallel evolution between the ground and the vegetation, a state of balance is reached. This stage of development is called climax by some ecologists and natural potential by others, succession is the evolution towards climax. Regardless of its name, the stage of primary succession is the highest natural form of development that the environmental factors are capable of producing. The cycles of evolution of soils have very variable durations, between tens, hundreds, or thousands of years for quickly evolving soils to more than a million years for slowly developing soils. The same soil may achieve several successive steady state conditions during its existence, as exhibited by the Pygmy forest sequence in Mendocino County, soils naturally reach a state of high productivity, from which they naturally degrade as mineral nutrients are removed from the soil system. Thus older soils are vulnerable to the effects of induced retrogression and degradation. There are two types of factors influencing the evolution of a soil. These two factors are significant to explain the evolution of soils of short development. A first type of factor is the climate of an area. A second type of factor is more local, and is related to the original rock and this type of factor explains appearance of specialized associations. The destruction of the vegetation implies the destruction of evoluted soils, cycles of succession-regression of soils follow one another within short intervals of time or long intervals of time
Soil degradation
–
Intensive tillage result on soil degradation.
Soil degradation
–
Willow hedge strengthened with
fascines for the limitation of runoff, north of France.
25.
Soil erosion
–
Soil erosion is the displacement of upper layer of soil. The erosion of soil is a naturally occurring process on all land, the agents of soil erosion are water and wind, each contributing a significant amount of soil loss each year. Soil erosion may be a process that continues relatively unnoticed. The loss of soil from farmland may be reflected in reduced crop production potential, lower water quality. While erosion is a process, human activities have increased by 10–40 times the rate at which erosion is occurring globally. Excessive erosion causes both on-site and off-site problems, on-site impacts include decreases in agricultural productivity and ecological collapse, both because of loss of the nutrient-rich upper soil layers. In some cases, the end result is desertification. Off-site effects include sedimentation of waterways and eutrophication of bodies, as well as sediment-related damage to roads. Intensive agriculture, deforestation, roads, anthropogenic climate change and urban sprawl are amongst the most significant human activities in regard to their effect on stimulating erosion, however, there are many prevention and remediation practices that can curtail or limit erosion of vulnerable soils. Rainfall, and the surface runoff which may result from rainfall, produces four types of soil erosion, splash erosion, sheet erosion, rill erosion. Splash erosion is generally seen as the first and least severe stage in the erosion process. In splash erosion, the impact of a falling raindrop creates a crater in the soil. The distance these soil particles travel can be as much as 0.6 m vertically and 1.5 m horizontally on level ground. If the soil is saturated, or if the rate is greater than the rate at which water can infiltrate into the soil. If the runoff has sufficient flow energy, it will transport loosened soil particles down the slope, sheet erosion is the transport of loosened soil particles by overland flow. Rill erosion refers to the development of small, ephemeral concentrated flow paths which function as both sediment source and sediment delivery systems for erosion on hillslopes, generally, where water erosion rates on disturbed upland areas are greatest, rills are active. Flow depths in rills are typically of the order of a few centimeters or less and this means that rills exhibit hydraulic physics very different from water flowing through the deeper, wider channels of streams and rivers. Gully erosion occurs when water accumulates and rapidly flows in narrow channels during or immediately after heavy rains or melting snow
Soil erosion
–
An actively eroding
rill on an
intensively-farmed field in
eastern Germany
Soil erosion
–
A
natural arch produced by the wind erosion of differentially weathered rock in Jebel Kharaz,
Jordan.
Soil erosion
–
A wave-like sea cliff produced by
coastal erosion, in Jinshitan Coastal National Geopark,
Dalian,
Liaoning Province,
China.
Soil erosion
–
Soil and water being
splashed by the impact of a single
raindrop.
26.
Deforestation
–
Deforestation, clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use. Examples of deforestationinclude conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use, the most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests. About 30% of Earths land surface is covered by forests, Deforestation occurs for multiple reasons, trees are cut down to be used for building or sold as fuel, while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock and plantation. The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and it has adverse impacts on biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Deforestation has also used in war to deprive the enemy of cover for its forces. Modern examples of this were the use of Agent Orange by the British military in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency, as of 2005, net deforestation rates have ceased to increase in countries with a per capita GDP of at least US$4,600. Deforested regions typically incur significant adverse soil erosion and frequently degrade into wasteland, disregard of ascribed value, lax forest management and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that allow deforestation to occur on a large scale. In many countries, deforestation, both naturally occurring and human-induced, is an ongoing issue, Deforestation causes extinction, changes to climatic conditions, desertification, and displacement of populations as observed by current conditions and in the past through the fossil record. More than half of all plant and land animal species in the live in tropical forests. Between 2000 and 2012,2.3 million square kilometres of forests around the world were cut down, as a result of deforestation, only 6.2 million square kilometres remain of the original 16 million square kilometres of forest that formerly covered the Earth. Experts do not agree on whether industrial logging is an important contributor to global deforestation, some argue that poor people are more likely to clear forest because they have no alternatives, others that the poor lack the ability to pay for the materials and labour needed to clear forest. One study found that population increases due to fertility rates were a primary driver of tropical deforestation in only 8% of cases. Other causes of contemporary deforestation may include corruption of government institutions, the distribution of wealth and power, population growth and overpopulation. Globalization is often viewed as another cause of deforestation, though there are cases in which the impacts of globalization have promoted localized forest recovery. The degradation of forest ecosystems has also traced to economic incentives that make forest conversion appear more profitable than forest conservation. Some commentators have noted a shift in the drivers of deforestation over the past 30 years, Deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography. Deforestation is a contributor to global warming, and is cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect. Tropical deforestation is responsible for approximately 20% of world greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change deforestation, mainly in tropical areas, could account for up to one-third of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions
Deforestation
–
Satellite photograph of deforestation in progress in the Tierras Bajas project in eastern
Bolivia.
Deforestation
–
The last batch of sawnwood from the
peat forest in Indragiri Hulu, Sumatra,
Indonesia. Deforestation for
oil palm plantation.
Deforestation
–
Illegal slash and burn practice in
Madagascar, 2010
Deforestation
–
Fires on Borneo and Sumatra, 2006. People use
slash-and-burn deforestation to clear land for agriculture.
27.
Lemurs of Madagascar (book)
–
Lemurs of Madagascar is a 2010 reference work and field guide for the lemurs of Madagascar, giving descriptions and biogeographic data for the known species. The primary contributor is Russell Mittermeier, president of Conservation International, four related pocket field guides have also been released, containing color illustrations of each species, miniature range maps, and species checklists. The first edition was reviewed favorably in the International Journal of Primatology, Conservation Biology, each agreed that the book was an excellent resource for a wide audience, including ecotourists and lemur researchers. A lengthy review of the edition was published in the American Journal of Primatology. The third edition was reviewed favorably in Lemur News, the praised the expanded content of the book. The first edition identified 50 lemur species and subspecies, compared to 71 in the edition and 101 in the third. The first edition of Lemurs of Madagascar was published in 1994, the 520-page second edition was published in 2006 and is now officially out of print, having been followed by the 767-page third edition in the fall of 2010. For all three editions, Stephen D. Nash, winner of the 2004 American Society of Primatologists Presidents Award, has been the illustrator, the lead author for all three editions is Russell A. Mittermeier, president of CI and a well-published primatologist, herpetologist and biological anthropologist. Mast, marine biologist, primatologist, and the founding Director of CIs Madagascar Program, the list of authors changed again with the third edition. Returning authors included Mittermeier, Louis, Langrand, Hawkins, Rajaobelina, Ratsimbazafy, kappeler, a Professor of Sociobiology and Anthropology at the University of Göttingen in Germany, and James MacKinnon, the Senior Technical Director of Conservation International in Madagascar. The first edition followed a 1982 volume by Tattersall, entitled Primates of Madagascar, all three editions cover the natural history and conservation status for each known species. They also discuss conservation strategies, lemur origins, extinct lemurs, the books provide suggestions on where to see each species, as well as checklists to help people keep track of their sightings. Four pocket field guides have also published by CI, intended strictly to help people identify lemurs in the field by providing over 100 species illustrations. All illustrations, including the cover art, were drawn by Nash. Checklists for their respective species are included with these guides. The four pocket guides include two editions of Lemurs of Madagascar Pocket Identification Guide, Nocturnal Lemurs, and Diurnal and Cathemeral Lemurs, the Nocturnal Lemurs booklet contains 65 species from eight genera. A fifth and sixth pocket field guides are planned following the publication of the edition of the field guide. All three editions are split into chapters, sections, and appendices
Lemurs of Madagascar (book)
–
Third edition cover
Lemurs of Madagascar (book)
–
"[
Ring-tailed lemur] males use their thorny spurs on their forearms to make small scars in tree trunks that they then anoint with secretions from their scent glands." — Lemurs of Madagascar, Second Edition
Lemurs of Madagascar (book)
–
Babakotia radofilai, one of the extinct giant lemur species described in the chapter entitled "The Extinct Lemurs"
Lemurs of Madagascar (book)
–
Collared brown lemurs were treated as a subspecies in the first edition, but
elevated to full species status in the second.
28.
Conservation International
–
Conservation International is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Its goal is to nature as a source of food, fresh water, livelihoods. CIs work focuses on science, policy, and partnership with businesses and communities, the organization employs more than 1,000 people and works with 2, 000+ partners in more than 30 countries. CI has helped establish 1,200 protected areas across 78 countries and protected more than 730 million hectares of land, marine, in CIs first year, the organization purchased a portion of Bolivias foreign debt. The money was redirected to support conservation in the Beni Biosphere Reserve. Since this first-ever debt-for-nature swap, more than $1 billion of similar deals have made around the world. In 1989, CI formally committed to the protection of biodiversity hotspots, ultimately identifying 34 such hotspots around the world, the model of protecting hotspots became a key way for organizations to do conservation work. The organizations leadership grew to believe that CIs focus on biodiversity conservation was inadequate to protect nature, CI updated its mission in 2008 to focus explicitly on the connections between human well-being and natural ecosystems. As of FY2014, CIs expenses totaled more than US $135.3 million, CI receives high ratings from philanthropic watchdog organizations, with an A rating from Charity Watch. Charity Navigator awarded CI a score of 92.28 out of 100 for accountability, the foundation of CIs work is science, partnership and field demonstration. The organization has scientists, policy workers and other conservationists on the ground in more than 30 countries and it also relies heavily on thousands of local partners. CI works with governments, universities, NGOs and the sector with the aim of replicating these successes on a larger scale. By showing how conservation can work at all scales, CI aims to make the protection of nature a key consideration in economic development decisions around the world. In addition to the management of ocean resources, the agreement includes the worlds largest marine protected areas and sanctuaries for whales, dolphins, turtles. The organization has active in United Nations discussions on issues such as climate change and biodiversity. Its United States policy work currently highlights a connection between international conservation and Americas economic and national security interests. A few years after its founding, CI began working with McDonalds to implement sustainable agriculture, the organization expanded its commitment to working with the business sector in 2000, when it created the Center for Environmental Leadership in Business with support from the Ford Motor Company. CI has been criticized for links to companies with an environmental record such as BP, Cargill, Chevron, Monsanto and Shell
Conservation International
–
Conservation International
29.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
30.
OCLC
–
The Online Computer Library Center is a US-based nonprofit cooperative organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the worlds information and reducing information costs. It was founded in 1967 as the Ohio College Library Center, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the largest online public access catalog in the world. OCLC is funded mainly by the fees that libraries have to pay for its services, the group first met on July 5,1967 on the campus of the Ohio State University to sign the articles of incorporation for the nonprofit organization. The group hired Frederick G. Kilgour, a former Yale University medical school librarian, Kilgour wished to merge the latest information storage and retrieval system of the time, the computer, with the oldest, the library. The goal of network and database was to bring libraries together to cooperatively keep track of the worlds information in order to best serve researchers and scholars. The first library to do online cataloging through OCLC was the Alden Library at Ohio University on August 26,1971 and this was the first occurrence of online cataloging by any library worldwide. Membership in OCLC is based on use of services and contribution of data, between 1967 and 1977, OCLC membership was limited to institutions in Ohio, but in 1978, a new governance structure was established that allowed institutions from other states to join. In 2002, the structure was again modified to accommodate participation from outside the United States. As OCLC expanded services in the United States outside of Ohio, it relied on establishing strategic partnerships with networks, organizations that provided training, support, by 2008, there were 15 independent United States regional service providers. OCLC networks played a key role in OCLC governance, with networks electing delegates to serve on OCLC Members Council, in early 2009, OCLC negotiated new contracts with the former networks and opened a centralized support center. OCLC provides bibliographic, abstract and full-text information to anyone, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat—the OCLC Online Union Catalog, the largest online public access catalog in the world. WorldCat has holding records from public and private libraries worldwide. org, in October 2005, the OCLC technical staff began a wiki project, WikiD, allowing readers to add commentary and structured-field information associated with any WorldCat record. The Online Computer Library Center acquired the trademark and copyrights associated with the Dewey Decimal Classification System when it bought Forest Press in 1988, a browser for books with their Dewey Decimal Classifications was available until July 2013, it was replaced by the Classify Service. S. The reference management service QuestionPoint provides libraries with tools to communicate with users and this around-the-clock reference service is provided by a cooperative of participating global libraries. OCLC has produced cards for members since 1971 with its shared online catalog. OCLC commercially sells software, e. g. CONTENTdm for managing digital collections, OCLC has been conducting research for the library community for more than 30 years. In accordance with its mission, OCLC makes its research outcomes known through various publications and these publications, including journal articles, reports, newsletters, and presentations, are available through the organizations website. The most recent publications are displayed first, and all archived resources, membership Reports – A number of significant reports on topics ranging from virtual reference in libraries to perceptions about library funding
OCLC
–
Fred Kilgour (1st director of OCLC)
OCLC
–
Online Computer Library Center (OCLC)
OCLC
–
OCLC headquarters (Ohio)
OCLC
–
OCLC offices in Leiden (the Netherlands)
31.
Comoros
–
Other countries near the Comoros are Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast. Its capital is Moroni, on Grande Comore, the Union of the Comoros has three official languages – Comorian, Arabic and French. The religion of the majority of the population is Islam, at 1,660 km2, excluding the contested island of Mayotte, the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area. The population, excluding Mayotte, is estimated at 798,000, as a nation formed at a crossroads of different civilisations, the archipelago is noted for its diverse culture and history. The archipelago was first inhabited by Bantu speakers who came from East Africa, supplemented by Arab, the country consists of three major islands and numerous smaller islands, all in the volcanic Comoros archipelago. The major islands are known by their French names, northwestern-most Grande Comore, Mohéli. France has vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions that would affirm Comorian sovereignty over the island, in addition, Mayotte became an overseas department and a region of France in 2011 following a referendum passed overwhelmingly. It became part of the French colonial empire in the 19th century before becoming independent in 1975, since declaring independence, the country has experienced more than 20 coups détat or attempted coups, with various heads of state assassinated. As of 2008 about half the population lived below the poverty line of US$1.25 a day. The Comoros is the state to be a member of the African Union, Francophonie, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Arab League. The name Comoros derives from the Arabic word قمر qamar, the first human inhabitants of the Comoro Islands are thought to have been Polynesian and Melanesian settlers, Malays and Indonesians, travelling by boat. The islands of the Comoros were populated by a succession of peoples from the coast of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf, the Malay Archipelago, and Madagascar. Bantu-speaking settlers reached the islands as a part of the greater Bantu expansion that took place in Africa throughout the first millennium, according to pre-Islamic mythology, a jinni dropped a jewel, which formed a great circular inferno. This became the Karthala volcano, which created the island of the Comoros, development of the Comoros was divided into phases. The earliest reliably recorded phase is the Dembeni phase, during each island maintained a single. From the eleventh to the centuries, trade with the island of Madagascar and merchants from the Middle East flourished, smaller villages emerged. Many Comorians can trace their genealogies to ancestors from Yemen, mainly Hadhramaut, and Oman. According to legend, in 632, upon hearing of Islam, islanders are said to have dispatched an emissary, Mtswa-Mwindza, to Mecca—but by the time he arrived there, the Islamic prophet Muhammad had died
Comoros
–
A large
dhow with
lateen sail rigs.
Comoros
–
Flag
Comoros
–
A
vanilla plantation.
Comoros
–
An 1808 map refers to the islands as "Camora".
32.
History of Comoros
–
The history of the Comoros goes back some 1,500 years. It has been inhabited by various groups throughout this time, France colonised the islands in the 19th century. The Comoros finally became independent in 1975, according to myth, the Comoros islands were first visited by Phoenician sailors. The earliest inhabitants of the islands were probably Bantu-speaking Africans, the earliest evidence of settlement of the dates from the sixth century. Traces of this culture have blended with successive waves of African, Arab. Shirazi immigrants appear to have arrived some time after the tenth century A. D, over the centuries, the Comoro Islands have been settled by a succession of diverse groups from the coast of Africa, the Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia and Madagascar. Portuguese explorers first visited the archipelago in 1505, both the British and the French turned their attention to the Comoros islands in the middle of the 19th century. William Sunley, a planter and British Consul from 1848–1866, was an influence on Anjouan, on 25 March 1841, France purchased the island of Maore, which became a colony. In 1850 Sultan Selim of Johanna island seized the American whaler Maria and imprisoned her commander, in response the United States Navy launched the Johanna Expedition in February 1852 to gain the release of Moores and extract compensation. Initially the sultan did not meet the demands, and the sloop-of-war USS Dale bombarded the fortifications, ultimately Selim paid US$1,000. Résidents were posted on the three islands, on 9 April 1908, France declared the protectorates and Mayotte a single colony, Mayotte and dependencies. On 25 July 1912, it was annexed to Madagascar as a province of that colony, from 16 June 1940 -1942 the colonial administration remained loyal to Vichy France, but 25 September 1942 -13 October 1946 they were, like Madagascar, under British occupation. Until the opening of the Suez Canal, the used to be an important refuelling and provisioning station for ships from Europe to the Indian Ocean. Independence came gradually for the Comoros, after World War II, the islands became a French overseas territory and were represented in Frances National Assembly. Internal political autonomy was granted in 1961, agreement was reached with France in 1973 for the Comoros to become independent in 1978. On July 6,1975, however, the Comorian parliament passed a resolution declaring unilateral independence, in two referendums, in December 1974 and February 1976, the population of Mayotte voted against independence from France. Mayotte thus remains under French administration, and the Comorian Government has effective control over only Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli. In 1961 it was granted autonomous rule and, seven years after the general unrest and left-wing riots of 1968, from the very beginning Mayotte refused to join the new republic and aligned itself even more firmly to the French Republic, but the other islands remained committed to independence
History of Comoros
–
Sultan
Said Ali bin Said Omar of Grande Comore (1897)
33.
Bantu peoples
–
Bantu peoples is used as a general label for the 300–600 ethnic groups in Africa who speak Bantu languages. They inhabit an area stretching east and southward from Central Africa across the African Great Lakes region down to Southern Africa. Bantu is a branch of the Niger-Congo language family spoken by most populations in Africa. There are about 650 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility and this Bantu expansion first introduced Bantu peoples to central, southern, and southeastern Africa, regions they had previously been absent from. They also encountered some Afro-Asiatic outlier groups in the southeast, who had there for centuries migrating from Northeast Africa. Individual Bantu groups today often include millions of people, among these are the Shona of Zimbabwe with 14.2 million people, the Luba of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with over 13. Swahili also serves as one of the languages of the African Union. The word Bantu, and its variations, means people or humans, the root in Proto-Bantu is reconstructed as *-ntu. This view represents a resolution of debates in the 1960s over competing theories advanced by Joseph Greenberg and Malcolm Guthrie and he proposed that Bantu languages had spread east and south from there, to secondary centers of further dispersion, over hundreds of years. Subsequent research on loanwords for adaptations in agriculture and animal husbandry and it is unclear exactly when the spread of Bantu-speakers began from their core area as hypothesized c.5,000 years ago. Another stream of migration, moving east, by 3,000 years ago was creating a new population center near the Great Lakes of East Africa. Pioneering groups had reached modern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa by A. D.300 along the coast, before the expansion of farming and herding peoples, including those speaking Bantu languages, Africa south of the equator was populated by neolithic hunting and foraging peoples. Some of them were ancestral to proto-Khoisan-speaking peoples, whose modern hunter-forager and linguistic descendants, the Hadza and Sandawe populations in Tanzania comprise the other modern hunter-forager remnant in Africa of these proto-Khoisan-speaking peoples. After their movements from their homeland in West Africa, Bantus also encountered in East Africa peoples of Afro-Asiatic. As cattle terminology in use amongst the few modern Bantu pastoralist groups suggests, linguistic evidence also indicates that Bantus likely borrowed the custom of milking cattle directly from Cushitic peoples in the area. On the coastal section of East Africa, another mixed Bantu community developed through contact with Muslim Arab, the Swahili culture that emerged from these exchanges evinces many Arab and Islamic influences not seen in traditional Bantu culture, as do the many Afro-Arab members of the Bantu Swahili people. Between the 14th and 15th centuries, Bantu-speaking states began to emerge in the Great Lakes region in the south of the Central African rain forest. On the Zambezi river, the Monomatapa kings built the famous Great Zimbabwe complex, from the 16th century onward, the processes of state formation amongst Bantu peoples increased in frequency
Bantu peoples
–
A Kikuyu woman in
Kenya
Bantu peoples
–
Bantu peoples divided into zones according to the
Guthrie classification of Bantu languages.
Bantu peoples
–
Kongo youth and adults in
Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of Congo
Bantu peoples
–
A
Makua mother and child in
Mozambique
34.
List of sultans on the Comoros
–
Several Sultanates on the Comoros, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean with an ethnically complex mix, were founded after the introduction of Islam into the area in the 15th century. Other uses depending on the island could also be styled fani, mfaume, unlike sultans in many other Arab nations, these sultans had little real power. At one time alone on the island of Ndzuwani or Nzwani,40 fanis and other chiefs shared power of the island and this article addresses the major ones. The term Shirazis is a reference to Iranian roots in some dynasties, jumbe Fumu wa Sinai The Sultan was also styled mfalme, the only known incumbent was, Febeja Mambwe
List of sultans on the Comoros
–
Sultan Said Ali bin Said Omar of Grande Comore (1897)
35.
2008 invasion of Anjouan
–
The Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean has had a fractious history since independence from France in 1975, experiencing more than 20 coups or attempted coups. The invasion occurred on the morning of March 25,2008. The main towns were overrun and the island was declared under the control of the invading forces the same day. Mohamed Bacar managed to escape to Mayotte on March 26 and requested political asylum and he was subsequently held in custody there by the French administration and brought to the island of Réunion. On May 15, France rejected Bacars request for asylum but the French refugee office ruled that the leader could not be extradited to the Comoros because of the risk of persecution. In March 2008, hundreds of Comoran government troops began assembling on Mohéli, sudan and Senegal provided a total of 750 troops, while Libya offered logistical support for the operation. In addition,500 Tanzanian troops were due to soon after. France, the colonial power, also assisted the operation by airlifting AU troops to the area. In an interview with IRIN, Mohamed Bacar said, Sambi does not know anything concerning the military, the first time the army came we kicked them out. The second time the army came we kicked them out and that means that if they try to come a third time we will kick them out. Anjouan promised to hold new elections in May 2008, which South African President Thabo Mbeki supported as a way to resolve the crisis, Mbeki once more tried to stop the invasion on March 14, but the AU disregarded his proposal and the invasion went ahead. On March 3,2008, a fuel ship supplying the Comoros Army caught fire in the port of Comoros capital, the cause of the fire was unknown. On March 11, an armed incursion occurred on the islands where three members of the Anjouan Militia loyal to President Bacar were captured and taken to Mohéli for interrogation. Diplomacy continued with an intervention by South African President Thabo Mbeki who attempted to delay the planned AU invasion to the displeasure of the Comorian government. It is understood that Mbeki spoke to the head of the AU, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, by phone on March 14 to stall the attack, despite this intervention, a fishing boat with soldiers left Moheli for Anjouan on March 14. Two soldiers were wounded, a source said. The target of the operation was the Domoni police station in Anjouan so as to political prisoners. The troops then retreated back to Mohéli and returned to Anjouan on Sunday March 16 to rescue the two wounded soldiers, according to a military source one federal soldier suffered an arm injury and another had a minor foot injury
2008 invasion of Anjouan
–
Map of the invasion of Anjouan
36.
Geography of Comoros
–
The Comoros archipelago consists of four main islands aligned along a northwest-southeast axis at the north end of the Mozambique Channel, between Mozambique and the island of Madagascar. Still widely known by their French names, the islands officially have been called by their Swahili names by the Comorian government and they are Grande Comore, Mohéli, Anjouan, and Mayotte. The islands have a land area of 2,236 square kilometers. Mount Karthala on Grande Comore is an active volcano, from April 17 to 19,2005, the volcano began spewing ash and gas, forcing as many as 10,000 people to flee. Geographic coordinates, 12°10′S 44°15′E Grande Comore is the largest island, sixty-seven kilometers long and twenty-seven kilometers wide, the most recently formed of the four islands in the archipelago, it is also of volcanic origin. A plateau averaging 600 to 700 meters high connects the two mountains, because Grande Comore is geologically a relatively new island, its soil is thin and rocky and cannot hold water. As a result, water from the heavy rainfall must be stored in catchment tanks. There are no coral reefs along the coast, and the island lacks a good harbor for ships, one of the largest remnants of the Comoros once-extensive rain forests is on the slopes of Kartala. The national capital has been at Moroni since 1962, Anjouan, triangular shaped and forty kilometers from apex to base, has an area of 424 square kilometers. Three mountain chains — Sima, Nioumakele, and Jimilime—emanate from a peak, Mtingui. Older than Grande Comore, Anjouan has deeper soil cover, a coral reef lies close to shore, the islands capital of Mutsamudu is also its main port. Mohéli is thirty kilometers long and twelve wide, with an area of 290 square kilometers. It is the smallest of the four islands and has a mountain chain reaching 860 meters at its highest. Like Grande Comore, it retains stands of rain forest, because of greater weathering of the volcanic rock, the soil is relatively rich in some areas. A well-developed coral reef that encircles much of the island ensures protection for ships, dzaoudzi, capital of the Comoros until 1962 and now Mayottes administrative center, is situated on a rocky outcropping off the east shore of the main island. Dzaoudzi is linked by a causeway to le Pamanzi, which at ten kilometers in area is the largest of several islets adjacent to Mayotte, islets are also scattered in the coastal waters of Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli. A live specimen was caught in 1938 off southern Africa, other coelacanths have since found in the vicinity of the Comoro Islands. Several mammals are unique to the islands themselves, livingstones fruit bat, although plentiful when discovered by explorer David Livingstone in 1863, has been reduced to a population of about 120, entirely on Anjouan
Geography of Comoros
–
Map of Comoros and Southern Africa
Geography of Comoros
–
Map of all islands
Geography of Comoros
–
Map of Anjouan
Geography of Comoros
–
Map of Moheli
37.
Geography of the Comoros
–
The Comoros archipelago consists of four main islands aligned along a northwest-southeast axis at the north end of the Mozambique Channel, between Mozambique and the island of Madagascar. Still widely known by their French names, the islands officially have been called by their Swahili names by the Comorian government and they are Grande Comore, Mohéli, Anjouan, and Mayotte. The islands have a land area of 2,236 square kilometers. Mount Karthala on Grande Comore is an active volcano, from April 17 to 19,2005, the volcano began spewing ash and gas, forcing as many as 10,000 people to flee. Geographic coordinates, 12°10′S 44°15′E Grande Comore is the largest island, sixty-seven kilometers long and twenty-seven kilometers wide, the most recently formed of the four islands in the archipelago, it is also of volcanic origin. A plateau averaging 600 to 700 meters high connects the two mountains, because Grande Comore is geologically a relatively new island, its soil is thin and rocky and cannot hold water. As a result, water from the heavy rainfall must be stored in catchment tanks. There are no coral reefs along the coast, and the island lacks a good harbor for ships, one of the largest remnants of the Comoros once-extensive rain forests is on the slopes of Kartala. The national capital has been at Moroni since 1962, Anjouan, triangular shaped and forty kilometers from apex to base, has an area of 424 square kilometers. Three mountain chains — Sima, Nioumakele, and Jimilime—emanate from a peak, Mtingui. Older than Grande Comore, Anjouan has deeper soil cover, a coral reef lies close to shore, the islands capital of Mutsamudu is also its main port. Mohéli is thirty kilometers long and twelve wide, with an area of 290 square kilometers. It is the smallest of the four islands and has a mountain chain reaching 860 meters at its highest. Like Grande Comore, it retains stands of rain forest, because of greater weathering of the volcanic rock, the soil is relatively rich in some areas. A well-developed coral reef that encircles much of the island ensures protection for ships, dzaoudzi, capital of the Comoros until 1962 and now Mayottes administrative center, is situated on a rocky outcropping off the east shore of the main island. Dzaoudzi is linked by a causeway to le Pamanzi, which at ten kilometers in area is the largest of several islets adjacent to Mayotte, islets are also scattered in the coastal waters of Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli. A live specimen was caught in 1938 off southern Africa, other coelacanths have since found in the vicinity of the Comoro Islands. Several mammals are unique to the islands themselves, livingstones fruit bat, although plentiful when discovered by explorer David Livingstone in 1863, has been reduced to a population of about 120, entirely on Anjouan
Geography of the Comoros
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Map of Comoros and Southern Africa
Geography of the Comoros
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Map of all islands
Geography of the Comoros
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Map of Anjouan
Geography of the Comoros
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Map of Moheli
38.
Politics of Comoros
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Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament, as of 2008, Comoros and Mauritania were considered by US-based organization Freedom House as the only real “electoral democracies” of the Arab World. The Union of the Comoros, known as the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros until 2003, is ruled by Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, the political situation in Comoros has been extremely fluid since the countrys independence in 1975, subject to the volatility of coups and political insurrection. In May 1999, Azali decreed a constitution that gave him both executive and legislative powers, bowing somewhat to international criticism, Azali appointed a civilian Prime Minister, Bainrifi Tarmidi, in December 1999, however, Azali retained the mantle of Head of State and army Commander. In December 2000, Azali named a new civilian Prime Minister, Hamada Madi, when Azali took power he also pledged to step down in April 2000 and relinquish control to a democratically elected president—a pledge with mixed results. Presidential elections were held in 2002, at which Azali Assoumani was elected President, in April 2004 legislative elections were held, completing the implementation of the new constitution. The new Union of the Comoros consists of three islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli, each island has a president, who shares the presidency of the Union on a rotating basis. The president and his vice-presidents are elected for a term of four years, the constitution states that, the islands enjoy financial autonomy, freely draw up and manage their budgets. President Assoumani Azali of Grande Comore is the first Union president, President Mohamed Bacar of Anjouan formed his 13-member government at the end of April,2003. On 15 May 2006, Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, a cleric and successful businessman educated in Iran, Saudi Arabia and he is considered a moderate Islamist and is called Ayatollah by his supporters. He beat out retired French air force officer Mohamed Djaanfari and long-time politician Ibrahim Halidi, whose candidacy was backed by Azali Assoumani, a referendum took place on May 16,2009 to decide whether to cut down the governments unwieldy political bureaucracy. 52. 7% of those eligible voted, and 93. 8% of votes were cast in approval of the referendum, the referendum would cause each islands president to become a governor and the ministers to become councilors. Comoros considers Mayotte, an overseas collectivity of France, to be part of its territory, the Union of Comoros abolished the position of Prime Minister. The Assembly of the Union has 33 seats,18 elected in single seat constituencies and 15 representatives of the regional assemblies. The Supreme Court or Cour Supreme, has two members appointed by the president, two elected by the Federal Assembly, one by the Council of each island
Politics of Comoros
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Comoros
39.
Elections in the Comoros
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Elections in the Comoros take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and the majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Union are directly elected, following World War II, the Comoros began to elect representatives to the French National Assembly, with Saïd Mohamed Cheikh elected from the islands in 1945. The following year the islands elected a General Council for the first time, in 1952 the Council became the Territorial Assembly, and in 1962 became the Chamber of Deputies. Following independence in the mid-1970s, presidential elections were held in October 1978, in parliamentary elections in December that year all candidates ran as independents. Shortly before the 1982 parliamentary elections the Comorian Union for Progress had been declared the legal party. Abdallah was again the candidate in the 1984 presidential elections. The 1992 parliamentary elections produced a fragmented legislature, with 14 parties winning seats, early elections the following year produced a majority for the pro-presidential Rally for Democracy and Renewal, which won 28 of the 42 seats. As a result of a coup, the presidential elections were not held until 2002. However, parliamentary elections in 2004 resulted in a victory for the opposition Camp of the Autonomous Islands, the 2006 presidential elections were won by Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi. The parliamentary elections in 2009 were won by the Baobab movement supportive of the President, presidential elections in 2010 saw Ikililou Dhoinine elected President. The delayed 2015 parliamentary elections produced another fragmented Assembly, with the Union for the Development of the Comoros emerging as the largest party with eight seats, the President of the Comoros is elected for a five-year term using a version of the two-round system. The presidency rotates between the Comoros three main islands, Anjouan, Grande Comore and Mohéli, several referendums have been held in the Comoros. In 1958 the islands voted in favour of the new French constitution, an independence referendum was held in 1974, which resulted in a large majority in favour of independence. However, one island, Mayotte, voted against referendum, and was separated from the rest of the Comoros to remain under French control. Following independence, a referendum was held on the presidency of Ali Soilih in October 1977, despite a vote in favour. Following his overthrow, a referendum was held, with 99% of voters voting in favour of the new constitution. Further constitutional referendums were held in 1989,1992,1996,2001 and 2009, independent National Election Commission Comoros Adam Carrs Election Archive Comoros African Elections Database
Elections in the Comoros
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Comoros
40.
Foreign relations of the Comoros
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In November 1975, Comoros became the 143rd member of the United Nations. The new nation was defined as consisting of the entire archipelago, the government fostered close relationships with the more conservative Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In October 1993, Comoros joined the League of Arab States, in 1985 Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles agreed to admit Comoros as the fourth member of the Indian Ocean Commission, an organization established in 1982 to encourage regional cooperation. In 1993 Mauritius and Seychelles had two of the five embassies in Moroni, and Mauritius and Madagascar were connected to the republic by regularly scheduled commercial flights, in November 1975, Comoros became the 143d member of the UN. In the 1990s, the continued to represent Mahoré in the UN. Comoros was also a member of the OAU, the EDF, the World Bank, the IMF, the IOC, Comoros thus cultivated relations with various nations, both East and West, seeking to increase trade and obtain financial assistance. In 1994, however, it was facing the need to control its expenditures. Comoros also confronted domestically the problem of the degree of democracy the government was prepared to grant to its citizens, List of diplomatic missions in Comoros List of diplomatic missions of Comoros
Foreign relations of the Comoros
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Comoros
41.
Human rights in the Comoros
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Historically, Comoros has had a relatively poor human rights record. In early 1979, Comorian authorities arrested some 300 supporters of the Soilihs regime, four of Soilihs former ministers also disappeared. For the next two years, there were further arrests, shootings, and disappearances, under pressure from France, some trials were held but many Comorians remained political prisoners, despite protests from Amnesty International and other humanitarian organizations. The Abdallah regime also restricted freedom of speech, press, association, citizens rights to change their government, womens rights, after Abdullahs death on November 27,1989, the countrys human rights record improved. The European mercenaries who ruled the island ordered only a few arrests and this trend continued until March 1990, when Djohar became president of Comoros. Opposition to his regime resulted in human rights practices. For example, after an unsuccessful August 18–19,1990 coup attempt, in October 1990, the security forces killed Max Veillard, the leader of the conspirators. The following year, after efforts to him from the presidency for negligence failed, Djohar ordered the arrest of several Supreme Court judges. Another failed coup attempt on September 26,1992, prompted the authorities to more than twenty people. Police held these detainees incommunicado and reportedly tortured some of them, the Comorian Human Rights Association also accused the Djohar regime of extrajudicially executing individuals suspected of supporting armed opposition groups. By late 1993, groups such as Amnesty International continued to monitor the human situation in Comoros. The following chart shows Comoross ratings since 1975 in the Freedom in the World reports, therefore the information for the year marked 2008 is from the report published in 2009, and so on. 2. ^ As of 6 July in 1975,1 January thereafter,3. ^ The 1982 report covers the year 1981 and the first half of 1982, and the following 1984 report covers the second half of 1982 and the whole of 1983. In the interest of simplicity, these two aberrant year and a half reports have been split into three year-long reports through interpolation and this article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http, //lcweb2. loc. gov/frd/cs/. Freedom in the World 2012 Report, by Freedom House
Human rights in the Comoros
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Comoros
42.
Military of the Comoros
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The Comorian Security Force consist of a small standing army and a 500-member police force, as well as a 500-member defense force. A defense treaty with France provides naval resources for protection of territorial waters, training of Comorian military personnel, France maintains a small troop presence in the Comoros at government request. France maintains a small base and a Foreign Legion Detachment on Mayotte. FN FAL Battle Rifle AK-47 Assault Rifle Type 81 Assault Rifle NSV HMG RPG-7 Anti-Tank Weapon Mitsubishi L200 Pickup Trucks The Comorian Security Force operates only 4 aircraft, in addition to the CSF, the Police Force operates a further 6 aircraft fleet available for paramilitary duties. 2 Yamayuri patrol boats -41 tons full load - commissioned in 1981
Military of the Comoros
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Comoran Defense Force soldiers march in formation in
Moroni
Military of the Comoros
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Comoran Defense Force soldiers demonstrate hand-to-hand combat skills
43.
List of political parties in the Comoros
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A political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues with the aim to participate in power, usually by participating in elections. Comoros does not have a party system. Political groups are formed mainly in support of certain leaders, the only major ideological point of contention is the debate between supporters of a strong federal government and supporters of the autonomous island governments. At the last elections the candidates were grouped around personalities, two are more or less parties, Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros Camp of the Autonomous Islands In the presidential election the Movement for the Comoros, allied with the CRC, participated. In the past the following parties were active
List of political parties in the Comoros
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Comoros
44.
Economy of Comoros
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The Comoros is made up of three islands that have inadequate transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level of the labor force contributes to a level of economic activity, high unemployment. The Comoros, with a gross domestic product per capita income of about $700, is among the worlds poorest and least developed nations. Although the quality of the land differs from island to island, as a result, most of the inhabitants make their living from subsistence agriculture and fishing. Average wages in 2007 hover around $3–4 per day, agriculture, including fishing, hunting, and forestry, is the leading sector of the economy. It contributes 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, the country is not self-sufficient in food production, rice, the main staple, accounts for the bulk of imports. Continued foreign support is essential if the goal of 4% annual GDP growth is to be met, at 24 percent of GDP, remittances constitute an important source of inflows for the Comorian economy. The GDP per capita of the Comoros grew 55% in the 1980s, but this proved unsustainable and it consequently shrank by 42% in the Nineties. During the colonial period, the French and local leading citizens established plantations to grow crops for export. A serious consequence of this approach has been the languishing of the agricultural sector. In 1993 the Comoros remained hostage to fluctuating prices on the market for such crops as vanilla, ylang-ylang. The Comoros is one of the worlds poorest countries, its per capita gross national product was estimated at US$400 in 1994, following the January devaluation of the Comorian franc. Gross domestic product grew in real terms by 4.2 percent per year from 1980 to 1985,1.8 percent from 1985 to 1988, and 1.5 percent in 1990. In 1991, because of its balance of payments difficulties, the Comoros became eligible for the IDAs Special Program of Assistance for debt-distressed countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the economy is based on private ownership, frequently by foreign investors. Nationalization, even during the Soilih years, has been limited, Soilih did expropriate the facilities of a foreign oil company, but only after the government of Madagascar took over the companys plants in that country. The nationalization was short-lived, however, because Socovia and other enterprises were either liquidated or privatized as part of economic restructuring efforts in 1992. The government delayed implementing the structural adjustment plan and was directed by the World Bank, the plan recommendations entailed discharging about 2,800 of 9,000 civil servants, among other unpopular measures. The IMF granted the Comoros a new credit for US$1.9 million in March 1994 under the Structural Adjustment Facility, for the period 1994-96, the Comoros sought an economic growth rate of 4 percent as well as an inflation rate of 4 percent for 1995-96
Economy of Comoros
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A market place in
Moroni
45.
Comorian franc
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The franc is the official currency of Comoros. It is nominally subdivided into 100 centimes, although no centime denominations have ever been issued, the French franc became the currency of Comoros after the islands became a French protectorate in 1886. In 1891, Sultan Said Ali bin Said Omar of Grande Comore, Ngazidja issued coins denominated in centimes, in 1912, the Comoros became a province of Madagascar, which was a French possession. French banknotes and coins circulated in the colony, apart from an emergency issue of small change notes in 1920, the French currency circulated alone until 1925. The Malagasy franc was equivalent to the French franc and French coins continued to circulate as Madagascar had no coins of its own until 1943. When the Comoros became a separate French territory in 1945, the name of the bank was changed to the Banque de Madagascar et des Comores. A branch office opened in Comoros in 1953, while the banknotes were changed to reflect the new status of Comoros, the coins were not changed and bore only the name Madagascar. On 26 December 1945, the Madagascar-Comores CFA franc was established, old Madagascar coins and banknotes continued to circulate as this new currency. On 17 October 1948, the CFA franc was revalued to 2 French francs, in 1950, the French government took over majority ownership of the Banque de Madagascar et des Comores. On 1 January 1960, the French franc was revalued, with 100 old francs becoming 1 new franc, the new exchange rate was 1 Madagascar-Comores CFA franc =0.02 French francs. On 26 June 1960, Madagascar gained independence from France, Madagascar left the CFA zone effective 1 July 1973. Sixty-five percent of the foreign reserves of Comoros are held in euros in this account. This account is similar to overnight deposits with the French Treasury, it may bear interest and may, in special circumstances, however, to prevent this account from showing a lasting overdraft, a number of preventative measures have been set up. The ministers of finance of the area meet biannually. The agreement between France and the Comoros is essentially the same as the agreement France has with the CFA Zone and it is a continuation of a relationship of monetary cooperation between the two countries that has existed for more than a century. Until 1994, the Comorian franc was pegged to the French franc at the rate of 50 Comorian francs to 1 French franc and this was changed on January 12,1994, when the currency was devalued in concert with the CFA franc devaluation. However, the Comorian franc was devalued 33⅓% to a new rate of 75 Comorian francs for 1 French franc, with the creation of the euro in January 1999, the Comorian franc was pegged, at its prevailing rate, to the new currency. The exchange rate is now 491.96775 Comorian francs to 1 euro, the post of Deputy Director of the Central Bank of the Comoros is held by a Banque de France official, who is responsible for monetary policy
Comorian franc
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50 francs, 1975
Comorian franc
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Comorian franc
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500-franc note from 1981. The white circle contains a
watermark.
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Wikimedia Atlas of Comoros
This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.
This article incorporates 
