St. Joseph Atoll

St. Joseph Atoll

Map of D'Arros Island and neighboring St. Joseph Atoll, part of the Amirante Islands group
St. Joseph Atoll
Geography
Location Indian Ocean
Coordinates 05°24′S 53°18′E / 5.400°S 53.300°E / -5.400; 53.300Coordinates: 05°24′S 53°18′E / 5.400°S 53.300°E / -5.400; 53.300
Archipelago Seychelles
Adjacent bodies of water Indian Ocean
Total islands 13
Major islands
  • St. Joseph
  • Fouquet
  • Benjamin
  • Paul
  • Ressource    
Area 1.632 km2 (0.630 sq mi)
Highest elevation 3 m (10 ft)
Administration
Group Outer Islands
Sub-Group Amirante Islands
Sub-Group D'Arros and St. Joseph Atoll Special Reserve[1]
Districts Outer Islands District
Largest settlement
St. Joseph
(population 0)
Demographics
Demonym Creole
Population 0 (2014)
Pop. density 0 /km2 (0 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups Creole, French, East Africans, Indians.
Additional information
Time zone
Official website www.seychelles.travel/en/discover/the-islands/outer-islands
ISO Code = SC-26

Saint Joseph Atoll is part of the Amirante Islands group, which are in the Outer Islands (Coralline Seychelles) coral archipelago of the Seychelles islands and nation. The atoll is located southwest of the granitic Inner Seychelles archipelago, with a distance of 248 km south of Victoria, Seychelles.

History

The atoll was discovered in 1770 by European sailors.[2]

Private atoll

In 1960, The island became the property of a Seychellois family, who built a coconut plantation on the bigger St. Joseph island.

Nature preserve

In August 2012 it was revealed that the atoll was sold, together with D'Arros Island, for US$60 million, to be managed by the Save Our Seas Foundation.[3][4]

Geography

Saint Joseph Atoll is located only 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi) east of the eastern part of D'Arros Island, but it is a separate geographical unit, separated by 60–62 metres (197–203 ft) deep water of a 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) wide channel, which is deeper than much of the Amirantes Bank. The land area of the Atoll occupies 1.21 square kilometres (0.47 sq mi). The main Saint Joseph island is of crescent shaped, flat coral sand cay, 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) long and with average 0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi) wide, and nowhere higher than 3 metres (9.8 ft). The tree tops are about 24 m high.

Coral reefs

The Atoll stands on a detached patch coral reef similarly orientated, with maximum dimensions of 6.6 kilometres (4.1 mi) and 4.4 kilometres (2.7 mi). Its total area is 22.53 km2, of which 11.74 km2 comprises the peripheral reef flat, 4.8 km2 the interior lagoon, and only 1.39 km2 the land area of all islets. Depths of 500 m are found only 1.5 km east of the reef edge, and of 1000 m one kilometer further east.

Lagoon

The lagoon is completely enclosed by the surrounding reef. At low water it drains over a narrow sill, Passe Lerein Fin, at its western end. The lagoon has a maximum depth of 6.4 m. Other soundings range from 2.1 to 3.7 m. The peripheral reefs, in addition to being exceptionally wide, are covered (except on the west side) with mobile sand. Inter-tidal sand sheets are encroaching on the margins of the lagoon on its windward side, which is marked for much of its extent by a discontinuous linear sandbar. There are no growing reefs in the lagoon.

List of islets

The atoll has 13 sandy islets: the three larger ones along the northeast and east shore, which are covered by coconut plantations, and the remaining ones in the south:

 IslandtypeArea
(hectares)		Location
1Varssand cay0.2105°24′22″S 53°19′34″E / 5.40611°S 53.32611°E / -5.40611; 53.32611
2Ressourceisland12.1005°24′34″S 53°19′36″E / 5.40944°S 53.32667°E / -5.40944; 53.32667
3Fouquet Island (ÎIe aux Fouquets)island16.7005°25′23″S 53°20′24″E / 5.42306°S 53.34000°E / -5.42306; 53.34000
4Pelican Cay (Pélicans)sand cay6.0005°26′10″S 53°20′56″E / 5.43611°S 53.34889°E / -5.43611; 53.34889
5Saint Joseph Islandisland108.4005°26′28″S 53°21′35″E / 5.44111°S 53.35972°E / -5.44111; 53.35972
6Carcassaye Islandsand cay2.7205°24′22″S 53°21′23″E / 5.40611°S 53.35639°E / -5.40611; 53.35639
7Sable Isletsand cay0.1205°26′52″S 53°21′28″E / 5.44778°S 53.35778°E / -5.44778; 53.35778
8Benjamen Islandsand cay6.8005°26′28″S 53°20′47″E / 5.44111°S 53.34639°E / -5.44111; 53.34639
9Ferrari Islandsand cay1.0205°26′47″S 53°20′56″E / 5.44639°S 53.34889°E / -5.44639; 53.34889
10Chien Islandsand cay3.2505°27′00″S 53°20′50″E / 5.45000°S 53.34722°E / -5.45000; 53.34722
11Paul Island (ÎIe aux Poules)island4.5805°26′44″S 53°20′28″E / 5.44556°S 53.34111°E / -5.44556; 53.34111
12Banc aux Cocos eastsand cay0.7005°26′12″S 53°19′36″E / 5.43667°S 53.32667°E / -5.43667; 53.32667
13Banc aux Cocos westsand cay0.6005°26′04″S 53°19′21″E / 5.43444°S 53.32250°E / -5.43444; 53.32250
 St. Joseph AtollAtoll163.205°26′S 53°21′E / 5.433°S 53.350°E / -5.433; 53.350

Administration

The island belongs to Outer Islands District.[5]

Demographics

The atoll is currently uninhabited. it hosted a small population of 10, which now moved to D'Arros Island. There are several ruined buildings on the main island of St. Joseph, near the cultivated area at the western end.

Transport

You can reach the atoll with flights to unpaved airstrip (ICAO: FSDA).

References

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