Île Europa
- ISS005-E-9408
- 11 August 2002
- 07:55 UTC
The low coral island of Île Europa is the southernmost of the French possessions in the Mozambique Channel, being located about 110 km southeast of the Bassas da India reef. The island of 30 km² is roughly circular in shape with a diameter of 6-7 km and is surrounded by a coral platform of 200-600 m in width that is emergent at low tides.
On the northern side of the island an elongated shallow lagoon of 9 km² cuts through the island deep in to the interior. The margins of the lagoon — particularly the eastern side — are fringed by extensive areas of mangrove swamp. From its beaches of sand and coral rubble, the island rises to an interior (up to 6 m in height) that is sparsley vegetated with low scrub, grasses and dry forest — a flora that contains several native species.
The island is an important nesting site for the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), with up to 15,000 turtles coming to the island to nest anually. This represents one of the world's major and least disturbed populations of this species. Europa is also an important stop over point for migrating birds as well as being a major site for breeding seabirds. Species breeding on the island include: Greater Frigatebird (Fregata minor), Lesser Frigatebird (F. ariel) Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda), White-tailed Tropicbird (P. lepturus), Brown booby (Sula leucogaster), Red-footed Booby (S. sula), Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata) Caspian Tern (S. caspia) and Audubon’s Shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri).
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center
