Inhaca Island
Encyclopedia
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
off the East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
n coast.
The 52 km² island separates Maputo Bay
Maputo Bay
Maputo Bay , formerly Delagoa Bay, Baía da Lagoa is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique, between 25° 40' and 26° 20' S, with a length from north to south of over 90 km long and 32 km wide....
(Baía de Maputo) to the west from the Indian Ocean off its eastern shores. The island's irregular coastline approaches mainland Machangulo Peninsula at Ponta Torres where a 500m-wide tidal race
Tidal race
Tidal race is a natural occurrence whereby a fast moving tide passes through a constriction resulting in the formation of waves, eddies and hazardous currents...
separates the two headlands. In administrative terms Inhaca is a municipal district of the municipality of Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
, while the Machangulo peninsula is included under the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area
Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area
The Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area was born out of the Peace Park Foundation’s vision to establish a network of transfrontier conservation areas in southern Africa...
and is part of the district of Matutuíne
Matutuíne District
Matutuíne District is a district of Maputo Province in southern Mozambique. The principal town is Bela Vista.-Further reading:*...
, Maputo Province
Maputo Province
Maputo is a province of Mozambique; the province excludes the city of Maputo . The province has an area of 26,058 km² and a population of 1,072,086 .Matola is the capital of the province....
.
Geographical features
The island's dimensions are approximately 12 km (n-s) by 7 km (e-w). The highest point above sea level is the 104m Mount Inhaca on the north-eastern shoreline. The south-western peninsula is known as Ponta Punduine while Ponta Torres to the south-east approaches the mainland. Two inland swamps occur at the northerly airstrip and southern Nhaquene respectively. Besides InhacaInhaca
Inhaca is a settlement in Mozambique, on the subtropical Inhaca Island off the East African coast. Inhaca settlement is centered on a missionary station located about 32km east of Maputo.-Geography and administration:...
settlement on the western shore there are five smaller villages including Inguane, Nhaquene, Ridjeni and Tobia.
History
Despite being a part of the Portuguese Colony of Mozambique until 1975, the island of Inhaca, so close to the harbour of Maputo, was occupied by the British from 1823 until the Mac Mahon Treaty of 24 July 1875. The British used the island (amongst many others all around Africa) to patrol and control the slave traffic in the region.Ecology
Usnea
Usnea is the generic and scientific name for several species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae, that generally grow hanging from tree branches, resembling grey or greenish hair. It is sometimes referred to commonly as Old Man's Beard, Beard Lichen, or Treemoss...
-covered dune forests along the eastern and western shores. Extensive exposed mudflat
Mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...
s fringe the western and southern shores at low tide. Three undamaged coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
reefs flank the island's western perimeters, all of which are protected marine reserve
Marine reserve
For the United States Marine Corps Reserve see: Marine Forces ReserveA marine reserve is an area of the sea which has legal protection against fishing or development. This is to be distinguished from a marine park, but there is some overlap in usage...
s. Mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
s cover large sections of the northern shores and southern Saco Bay.
Among 160 coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
species are Staghorn and Plate corals. Conspicuous fish are Moray eel
Moray eel
Moray eels are cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. The approximately 200 species in 15 genera are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water and a few, for example the freshwater moray can sometimes be found in freshwater...
, Potato bass
Epinephelus
Epinephelus is a genus of groupers. They are large sea fish. Members of this genus may also be called a Mero.-Species:FishBase lists 99 species:* Areolate grouper, Epinephelus areolatus ....
, Barracuda
Barracuda
The barracuda is a ray-finned fish known for its large size and fearsome appearance. Its body is long, fairly compressed, and covered with small, smooth scales. Some species could reach up to 1.8m in length and 30 cm in width...
and Kingfish
Kingfish
-Fish:* King mackerel Scomberomorus cavalla* Kingcroaker Menticirrhus spp.* Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus commerson * White croaker Genyonemus lineatus * Cobia Rachycentron canadum...
. Others present are Brindle bass, Scorpionfish
Scorpionfish
Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfish, are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As the name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venomous mucus. The family is a large one, with hundreds of members. They are...
, Butterflyfish
Butterflyfish
The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. Found mostly on the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, there are approximately 120 species in 10 genera...
, Pufferfish
Pufferfish
Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the Tetraodontiformes order. The family includes many familiar species which are variously called pufferfish, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab...
, Parrotfish
Parrotfish
Parrotfishes are a group of fishes that traditionally had been considered a family , but now often are considered a subfamily of the wrasses. They are found in relatively shallow tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, but with the largest species richness in the Indo-Pacific...
and Seahorses. Whale shark
Whale shark
The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a slow-moving filter feeding shark, the largest extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of and a weight of more than , but unconfirmed claims report considerably larger whale sharks...
s and Manta ray
Manta ray
The manta ray is the largest species of the rays. The largest known specimen was more than across, with a weight of about . It ranges throughout waters of the world, typically around coral reefs...
s visit in summer. Humpback Whales migrate seasonally past these shores. Resident populations of the Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphin and the Indian ocean bottlenose dolphin occur in the waters around the island. The bottlenose dolphin's abundance fluctuates seasonally, increasing during the austral winter. The humpback dolphin is more resident, living in extremely shallow inshore areas of the western and southern coasts, and form larger groups (11-14 dolphins) than recorded elsewhere in southern Africa. Bottlenose dolphins frequent the waters of the northwestern coast, and their group size varies largely from individuals and pairs to hundreds of dolphins. Two species of Sea turtle
Sea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
s (loggerheads and leatherbacks) visit the eastern shores in summer to breed.
Inhaca is home to about 300 bird species, both resident and migratory. Species of conservation concern are the Pink-backed Pelican
Pink-backed Pelican
The Pink-backed Pelican is a member of the pelican family of birds. It is a resident breeder in Africa, southern Arabia and apparently extinct in Madagascar in swamps and shallow lakes.-Description:...
, Lesser Crested Tern
Lesser Crested Tern
The Lesser Crested Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae...
, Crab Plover
Crab Plover
The Crab-plover or Crab Plover is a bird related to the waders, but sufficiently distinctive to merit its own family Dromadidae. Its relationship within the Charadriiformes is unclear, some have considered it to be closely related to the thick-knees, or the pratincoles, while others have...
, Greater Sand Plover
Greater Sand Plover
The Greater Sand Plover, Charadrius leschenaultii, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The spelling is commonly given as "Greater sandplover", but the official British Ornithologists' Union spelling is "Greater sand plover"....
, Mongolian Plover, Terek Sandpiper
Terek Sandpiper
The Terek Sandpiper is a small migratory Palearctic wader species, the only member of the genus Xenus.- Description and systematics :...
, Southern Banded Snake Eagle
Circaetinae
Circaetinae is a bird of prey subfamily which consists of a group of medium to large broad-winged species. These are mainly birds which specialise in feeding on snakes and other reptiles, which is the reason most are named as "snake-eagles" or "serpent-eagles". The only exception is the Bateleur,...
, Mangrove Kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
, Grey-rumped Swallow and Spotted Ground-Thrush. The southerly Nhaquene Swamp and Saco Bay are strongholds for the Sooty Falcon
Sooty Falcon
The Sooty Falcon is a medium-sized falcon breeding from northeastern Africa to the southern Persian Gulf region. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis...
, while Terns roost on northerly Portuguese Island 25°58′31"S 32°54′38"E. Bird species of limited distribution are Rudd's Apalis, Neergaard's Sunbird
Sunbird
The sunbirds and spiderhunters are a family, Nectariniidae, of very small passerine birds. There are 132 species in 15 genera. The family is distributed throughout Africa, southern Asia and just reaches northern Australia. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, but also take insects and spiders,...
and Pink-throated Twinspot. House Crow
House Crow
thumb|300px|Bangalore, IndiaThe House Crow , also known as the Colombo Crow is a common bird of the Crow family that is of Asian origin but now found in many parts of the world, where they arrived assisted by shipping. It is between the Jackdaw and the Carrion Crow in size but is relatively...
s are present since the 1970s.
The sub-tropical evergreen forest on the island includes the following tree species: Sideroxylon inerme
Sideroxylon inerme
Sideroxylon inerme is a Southern African coastal tree, with dense foliage, black berries and small, dainty white flowers. The tree's formal name means "Iron-wood" in Greek, referring to its very hard timber....
, Apodytes dimidiata
Apodytes dimidiata
Apodytes dimidiata is a bushy tree, with white fragrant flowers and small, dark red berries. It is usually about 5 m tall , and it is indigenous to Southern Africa.The taxonomical family placement for this and other Apodytes is currently under debate...
, Euclea schimperi, Manilkara discolor, Dovyalis rhamnoides, Dovyalis tristis, Diospyros natalensis, Clausena anisata, Cassine papillosa, Olea africana, Ficus burtt-davyi, Ficus sansibarica, Ficus capensis, Commiphora neglecta, Commiphora schlechteri, Allophylus melanocarpus, Erythroxylon emarginatum, Vepris undulata, Deinbollia oblongifolia
Deinbollia oblongifolia
Deinbollia oblongifolia is a shrub or small tree in the family Sapindaceae. It is commonly known as the Dune Soap-berry and is found in coastal vegetation from the Eastern Cape of South Africa, through KwaZulu-Natal to southern Mozambique and Swaziland.-Description:These plants can grow up to 9 m...
, Scolopia ecklonii, Thespesia populnea and Galpinia transvaalica.
Gazetteer of villages
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