General: A French possession since 1892, the Gloriuse Islands include two lushly vegetated islands (Gloriose and Ile du Ly) and three rocky islets. According to indexdotcom, a military garrison maintains a meteorological station and a radio station on the island of Gloriuse.
Geography
Location: South Africa, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, northwest of Madagascar. Geographic coordinates: 11° 30’S latitude, 47° 20′ E Reference map: Africa. Area: total: 5 sq. km.; land surface area: 5 km2; water surface area: 0 km2; note: includes Gloriuse Island, Île du Lys, Werth Rocks, Wrec Rock and South Rock. Comparative area: about eight times the area of Mall Park in Washington. Land borders: 0 km. Coastline: 35.2 km. Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles; territorial waters: 12 nautical miles. Climate: tropical. Relief: low, flat. Maximum and minimum heights: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m; highest point: unnamed hill 12 m. Natural resources: guano, coconuts. Land use: arable land: 0%; cultivated land: 0%; pasture: 0%; forests and plantations: 0%; others: 100% (lush vegetation and coconut trees). Irrigated land: 0 sq. km. (1993). Natural hazards: periodic cyclones. Current environmental issues: no data available. International agreements on environmental protection: Note to the section “Geography”:
Politics
Common long form: absent; Common short form: Gloriose Islands; local long form: absent; local short form: lies Glorieuses. Dependency state: possession of France; administered by the High Commissioner of the Republic, resident in Réunion.
