Rodrigues
- MODIS image
- date unknown
Rodrigues, a dependent territory of Mauritius, is located 570 km east from Mauritius and 510 km southeast from the Cargados Carajos Shoals — the nearest neighbour of Rodrigues. The territory comprises the main island of Rodrigues and 18 smaller islets located within its lagoon — with a total land area of 119 km².
Rodrigues is approximately rectangular in shape, measuring 18 km in length (orientated east to west) and is between 5 to 8 km in width. It is composed of a central ridge of low hills that rise to height of 395 m at Mt. Limon. From the heavily eroded central ridge descend numerous valleys and gullies giving the island a rolling topography. The interior was once blanketed in rich native forest, but today this has been lost and is replaced by introduced woodlands in the central uplands and scrub type vegetation around the coasts.
The entire island sits within an extensive, reef-fringed lagoon of around 200 km² in area, with the main island located towards the eastern end. The outer reefs of the lagoon lie just off the eastern coast of the island, those off the southern shore lie up to 7 km distant. The lagoon is generally very shallow, with average depths of between 1 and 3 m. The main passages in to the lagoon are St Francois in the east and Port Sud Est in the southeast.
Within the lagoon are many smaller islets. The largest of these are Pierrot and Gombrani in the southeast, Crabe and Frigate off the western end of Rodrigues, and Cocoa and Sandy in the outer waters of the lagoons northwest, situated either side of the Passe Demi — the westernmost passage in to the lagoon.
image: MODIS rapid response project at nasa/goddard space flight center
