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Geography of Mayotte. / 12.833°S 45.167°E / -12.833; 45.167. Mayotte is an island of volcanic origin in the northernmost Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique. Mayotte is part of the Comoro Islands, and like them is the result of a former geological hot spot, the oldest of the ...
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Mayotte, overseas département (department) of France comprising the two southeasternmost islands of the Comoros archipelago. It is situated in the Mozambique Channel of the western Indian Ocean, about 190 miles (310 km) northwest of Madagascar. The capital, Mamoudzou, is located on the eastern coast of the main island, Mayotte (also called Grande T...
A volcanic mountain range forms a north-south chain on Mayotte island, with summits from about 1,600 to 2,000 feet (500 to 600 metres) in elevation. Protected waters for shipping and fishing are created by surrounding coral reefs some distance from the shore. The climate is warm, humid, and maritime, and average monthly temperatures range from 75 °F (24 °C) in August to 81 °F (27 °C) in December. The island’s average annual rainfall is 200 inches (5,000 mm). The vegetation comprises lush evergreen tropical forest.
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Most of the people are Mahorais of Malagasy origin and are Sunni Muslim and strongly influenced by French culture; there is a Roman Catholic minority. French is the official language, but most of the people speak Comorian (closely allied to Swahili); there are some villages along the Mayotte coast in which a Malagasy dialect is the main language. A...
The service sector—including health services, telecommunications, computer services, and other activities—is Mayotte’s principal source of employment. Agriculture is confined to the central and northeastern plains; cash crops include vanilla, ylang-ylang, coffee, and coconuts. Cassava (manioc), bananas, corn (maize), and rice are grown for subsiste...
Mayotte is an overseas département (department) of France. From 1976 into the 21st century, Mayotte had a special status with France as a collectivité territoriale (territorial collectivity), conceived as being midway between an overseas territory and an overseas département. Its status was changed to collectivité départementale (departmental collectivity) in 2001 and then to overseas département in 2011. Mayotte’s status as an administrative unit of France has been disputed by Comoros, which has claimed Mayotte since Comoros’s declaration of independence from France in 1975.
Mayotte is represented in the French National Assembly by a deputy and in the French Senate by two senators. It is administered by a French-appointed prefect and an elected Departmental Council. The judiciary is modeled on the French system.
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In the 15th century Arabs invaded the island and converted its inhabitants, who were probably descendants of earlier peoples speaking Bantu and Malay and Indonesian languages, to Islam; in the 16th century the Portuguese and French visited Mayotte. At the end of the 18th century the Sakalava, a Malagasy tribe from Madagascar, invaded and populated the island, bringing a Malagasy dialect. The French gained colonial control over Mayotte in 1843, and, together with the other islands of the Comoros archipelago and Madagascar, Mayotte became part of a single French overseas territory in the early 20th century.
The French administered Mayotte separately from the remainder of the Comoros beginning in 1975, when the three northernmost and predominantly Muslim islands of the Comoros declared independence, and the Muslim and Christian inhabitants of Mayotte chose to remain with France. In 1976 the French government introduced a special status of collectivité territoriale for the island. In 1979 the United Nations passed a resolution affirming the sovereignty of Comoros over Mayotte. The African Union also supported Comoros’s claim to the island.
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Mayotte ( / maɪˈɒt / my-OT; French: Mayotte, [majɔt] ⓘ; Shimaore: Maore, IPA: [maˈore]; Kibushi: Maori, IPA: [maˈori] ), officially the Department of Mayotte ( French: Département de Mayotte ), [3] is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is located in the northern part of the Mozambique ...
Sep 26, 2020 · Mayotte is an overseas region and a constituent part of the French Republic, at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique. The territory is geographically part of the Comoro islands, but has been politically separate since 1974, when it voted to remain French.
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The southeasternmost island of the Comoros archipelago, it is located northwest of Madagascar. Area: 145 sq mi (375 sq km). Population: (2024 est.) 326,700. Capital: Mamoudzou. Most of its people are of Malagasy origin. Originally inhabited by descendants of Bantu and Malayo-Indonesian peoples, it was converted to Islam by Arab invaders in the ...
Mayotte is an island of volcanic origin in the northernmost Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique. Mayotte is part of the Comoro Islands, and like them is the result of a former hot spot, the oldest of the Comoros archipelago, formed about 7.7 mya. Mayotte has an area of 374 square kilometres, and a coastline of length 185.2 km. Its ...
However, because Mayotte is a part of France its geology is significantly more researched than that of other islands in the chain. Mayotte is a primarily volcanic island rising steeply from the bed of the ocean to a height of 660 metres (2,170 ft) on Mont Bénara. Two volcanic centres are reported, a southern one (Pic Chongui, 594 metres (1,949 ...
