Mauritius is an island country in the southwest Indian Ocean
about 870 kilometers east of Madagascar.
In addition to the
main island of Mauritius with the capital Port Louis, Rodrigues, the
Cargados-Carajos Islands and the Agalega Islands are also part of
the national territory. The Chagos archipelago belonged to the
national territory of Mauritius, but was spun off from the United
Kingdom shortly before its foreseeable independence in 1965. After
gaining independence in 1968, the country first became a monarchy
with Elizabeth II as head of state within the Commonwealth and then
a republic in 1992. The country has been a member of the African
Union and the Commonwealth of Nations since independence. The
political system is based on the British Westminster system.
In 2021, 41 percent of
Mauritius residents lived in cities. The largest cities are (as of July
1, 2016):
Port Louis: 148,870 inhabitants
Vacoas-Phoenix: 106,253
inhabitants
Beau Bassin-Rose Hill: Population 104,544
Curepipe:
79,001 inhabitants
Quatre Bornes: 77,492 inhabitants
Together with Réunion, the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues belong to the Mascarene Islands.
Spacious location
The island of Mauritius is located in the Indian
Ocean about 1800 km east of the African continent.
Neighbore
states
The island of Réunion, which belongs to France, is about 200
km to the west. The Seychelles are about 1,750 kilometers to the north.
India is located about 4000 kilometers to the northeast.
Associated Islands
Main island Mauritius: The state of Mauritius
consists of two large and several smaller islands: The capital Port
Louis is located on Mauritius itself, the largest island of the state.
Small islands off Mauritius: Large parts of the main island are
surrounded by a reef, from which a few other small islands such as Amber
Island rise. Also in close proximity to Mauritius are Gunner's Coin
(Coin de Mire) (8 km off the north coast) and Round Island 22 km to the
north-east.
Rodrigues: The second larger island is Rodrigues with
around 40,000 inhabitants. It is around 600 km to the east at roughly
the same latitude as the main island.
Cargados-Carajos Islands: The
Cargados-Carajos Islands (also St. Brandon) are about 500 km northeast
of Mauritius. This archipelago is approximately 100 km long and
stretches from north to south.
Agalega Islands: The Agalega Islands
are located more than 1000 km north of Mauritius and are about 650 km as
the crow flies much closer to the Seychelles.
See also: List of
islands of Mauritius
Mauritius is in the southern hemisphere. So the seasons are opposite to those in the northern hemisphere. Due to its location in the summer-humid tropics, the average temperature on the coast is around 23.3 °C and at high altitudes around 19.4 °C. The relative humidity fluctuates around 80%. Winter (June to October) is the driest and summer (December to April) the wettest season. The contrasts between the east and west coasts are striking: while the east coast is directly influenced by the SE trade winds, the west coast is well protected in the rain shadow (lee) of the mountains. Therefore, the east coast has about 2.5 times more precipitation (1960 mm per year) than the west coast (780 mm per year) over the course of the year. In addition, the west coast is slightly warmer than the east side on an annual average due to the lee effect (foehn).
An average of around 15 tropical storms are observed annually over the southwestern Indian Ocean (SW Indic), where Mauritius is located. The cyclone season in Mauritius lasts from November 15th to May 15th. Not every storm reaches the cyclone stage (wind speeds > 118 km/h), not every storm sweeps across the island. More often they brush against foothills with heavy clouds, increasing wind and high waves on the coast.
Mauritius is located on the African Plate and is of volcanic origin.
Three volcanic phases are distinguished. An oldest phase began ten
million years ago and ended five million years ago. A middle volcanic
phase began 3.5 million years ago and ended 1.7 million years ago. A
recent or current series began 700,000 years ago and extends to at least
20,000 years ago. The volcanism produced mainly basaltic lavas.
Rodrigues Island is also made up of basaltic volcanic rocks that have
been radiometrically estimated to be 1.54 million years old. On the
southwest side of Rodriguez, the coral rubble rises to a height of 62
meters.
Mountains
The highest mountain in Mauritius is the
Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire at 828 m. It is located in the Black
River district in the Black River mountain range. It is followed by the
two peaks of Pieter Both (820 m) and Le Pouce (811 m) of the
Moka-Port-Louis chain.
As is often the case on isolated
islands, the fauna of Mauritius is not very species-rich, but has a high
proportion of endemic species.
Before the arrival of man, there
were no land mammals other than bats. These bats include the Mauritius
grave bat, the Mascarene fruit bat (Pteropus niger) and the now extinct
Lesser Mascarene fruit bat. Other species of bats and flying foxes are
also native to the island. Because the Mascarene fruit bats damage the
mango and lychee crops, the government decided in October 2015 to kill
20 percent of these fruit bats. Animal rights activists and the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned that this
could lead the species to the brink of extinction.
Many animal
species have been introduced by humans, including rats, mice, mongooses,
the maned deer and the cynomolgus monkey.
There are also more
than 100 bird species on Mauritius, in particular the endemic species
are in some cases severely threatened or already extinct due to habitat
changes and introduced mammals. The best-known bird is the dodo (Raphus
cucullatus), which is also represented in the island's coat of arms and
was extinct around 1690. Other endemic species include the Mascarene
spectacled bird, Mauritius falcon, Mauritius parakeet and pink dove. The
Mauritius gray parakeet, the Mauritius goose, the Mauritius night heron,
the Mauritius parrot, the Mauritius rail and the Mauritius duck are
already extinct. Among other things, the shepherd's maina, the red-eared
bulbul and the sparrow pigeon were introduced.
As on many islands
of the western Indian Ocean, there were also giant tortoises
(Cylindraspis genus) on Mauritius; but they were exterminated around
1800. The other reptiles include mainly geckos (including Günther's day
gecko and ornament day gecko) and skinks such as the Telfair skink. The
rare round island boa is endemic to the small northern island from which
it is named.
At the end of August 2020, 18 broad-beaked dolphins
died on the beaches of Mauritius, which caused a lot of media coverage
due to the oil spill caused by the Wakashio accident that had occurred
shortly before. A connection with the catastrophe has not yet been
proven.
Of the 670 species of
flowering plants, about half are endemic. Large parts of the island were
originally covered by tropical rainforest. The endemic mallow Trochetia
boutoniana is considered the national flower.
National parks,
nature reserves, Ramsar areas
On the main island of Mauritius (as of
2020) there are two larger national parks, and 8 neighboring islands
have been declared an island national park (Islet National Park):
Black River Gorges National Park, since June 15, 1994
Bras D'Eau
National Park, since October 25, 2011
Île D'Ambre (128 hectares)
Ile aux Flamants (0.8 hectares)
Ile aux Fouquets (2.49 hectares)
Ile aux Fous (0.3 hectares)
Ile aux Oiseaux (0.7 hectares)
Ilot
Vacoas (1.36 hectares)
Pigeon Rock (0.63 hectares)
Rocher aux
Oiseaux (0.1 hectares)
Another 7 islands are designated as nature
reserves:
Serpent Island (31.66 hectares)
Round Island (168.84
hectares)
Flat Island (253.26 hectares)
Gabriel Island (42.21
hectares)
Gunner's Coin (76 hectares)
Ilot Mariannes (4.05
hectares)
Ile aux Aigrettes (26 hectares)
On the national
territory of Mauritius, three areas are currently (2022) defined
according to the Convention on Wetlands, in particular as habitat for
waterfowl and waders, of international importance (Ramsar Convention):
Rivulet Terre Rouge Estuary Bird Sanctuary (RTREBS), since September 30,
2001
Blue Bay Marine Park (BBMP), since January 31, 2008
Pointe
d'Esny, since September 16, 2011