Nelsons Island
Encyclopedia
Nelson Island or Nelsons Island is the northernmost and the easternmost island of the Great Chagos Bank
, which is the world's largest coral atoll structure, located in the Chagos Archipelago
in the Indian Ocean
. The nearest neighbour is Île Boddam in the Salomon Islands.
Nelson Island occupies the only emerging reef structure in the northern fringe of the Great Chagos Bank. This lonely island has been always uninhabited, even between the 17th and the 20th century when there were coconut
plantation
s in other islands of the Chagos. The low bushy sandy island stretches in an East-West direction. Its length is 1.5 km and it is only 0.2 km wide in its broadest area. Owing to its remoteness there has always been a numerous population of sea turtle
s in this island.
Great Chagos Bank
The Great Chagos Bank, in the Chagos Archipelago, about South of the Maldives, is the largest atoll structure in the world, with a total area of . The Atoll is administered by the UK through the BIOT.-Islands:...
, which is the world's largest coral atoll structure, located in the Chagos Archipelago
Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago , is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean; situated some due south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands are the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge a long submarine mountain range...
in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. The nearest neighbour is Île Boddam in the Salomon Islands.
Nelson Island occupies the only emerging reef structure in the northern fringe of the Great Chagos Bank. This lonely island has been always uninhabited, even between the 17th and the 20th century when there were coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s in other islands of the Chagos. The low bushy sandy island stretches in an East-West direction. Its length is 1.5 km and it is only 0.2 km wide in its broadest area. Owing to its remoteness there has always been a numerous population of sea turtle
Sea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
s in this island.