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Comoros PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
The Comoros archipelago consists of four main islands
aligned
along a northwest-southeast axis at the north end of the
Mozambique Channel, between Mozambique and the island of
Madagascar
(see
fig. 6). Still widely known by their
French
names, the islands officially have been called by their
Swahili
names by the Comoran government. They are Njazidja (Grande
Comore), Mwali (Mohéli), Nzwani (Anjouan), and Mahoré
(Mayotte).
The islands' distance from each other--Njazidja is some
200
kilometers from Mahoré, forty kilometers from Mwali, and
eighty
kilometers from Nzwani--along with a lack of good harbor
facilities, make transportation and communication
difficult. The
islands have a total land area of 2,236 square kilometers
(including Mahoré), and claim territorial waters of 320
kilometers.
Njazidja is the largest island, sixty-seven kilometers
long
and twenty-seven kilometers wide, with a total area of
1,146
square kilometers. The most recently formed of the four
islands
in the archipelago, it is also of volcanic origin. Two
volcanoes
form the island's most prominent topographic features: La
Grille
in the north, with an elevation of 1,000 meters, is
extinct and
largely eroded; Kartala in the south, rising to a height
of 2,361
meters, last erupted in 1977. A plateau averaging 600 to
700
meters high connects the two mountains. Because Njazidja
is
geologically a relatively new island, its soil is thin and
rocky
and cannot hold water. As a result, water from the
island's heavy
rainfall must be stored in catchment tanks. There are no
coral
reefs along the coast, and the island lacks a good harbor
for
ships. One of the largest remnants of Comoros'
once-extensive
rain forests is on the slopes of Kartala. The national
capital
has been at Moroni since 1962.
Nzwani, triangular shaped and forty kilometers from
apex to
base, has an area of 424 square kilometers. Three mountain
chains--Sima, Nioumakele, and Jimilime--emanate from a
central
peak, Mtingui (1,575 meters), giving the island its
distinctive
shape. Older than Njazidja, Nzwani has deeper soil cover,
but
overcultivation has caused serious erosion. A coral reef
lies
close to shore; the island's capital of Mutsamudu is also
its
main port.
Mwali is thirty kilometers long and twelve kilometers
wide,
with an area of 290 square kilometers. It is the smallest
of the
four islands and has a central mountain chain reaching 860
meters
at its highest. Like Njazidja, it retains stands of rain
forest.
Mwali's capital is Fomboni.
Mahoré, geologically the oldest of the four islands, is
thirty-nine kilometers long and twenty-two kilometers
wide,
totaling 375 square kilometers, and its highest points are
between 500 and 600 meters above sea level. Because of
greater
weathering of the volcanic rock, the soil is relatively
rich in
some areas. A well-developed coral reef that encircles
much of
the island ensures protection for ships and a habitat for
fish.
Dzaoudzi, capital of Comoros until 1962 and now Mahoré's
administrative center, is situated on a rocky outcropping
off the
east shore of the main island. Dzaoudzi is linked by a
causeway
to le Pamanzi, which at ten kilometers in area is the
largest of
several islets adjacent to Mahoré. Islets are also
scattered in
the coastal waters of Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mwali.
Comoran waters are the habitat of the coelacanth, a
rare fish
with limblike fins and a cartilaginous skeleton, the
fossil
remains of which date as far back as 400 million years and
which
was once thought to have become extinct about 70 million
years
ago. A live specimen was caught in 1938 off southern
Africa;
other coelacanths have since been found in the vicinity of
the
Comoro Islands.
Several mammals are unique to the islands themselves.
The
macao, a lemur found only on Mahoré, is protected by
French law
and by local tradition. Another, Livingstone's fruit bat,
although plentiful when discovered by explorer David
Livingstone
in 1863, has been reduced to a population of about 120,
entirely
on Nzwani. The world's largest bat, the jet-black
Livingstone
fruit bat has a wingspan of nearly two meters. A British
preservation group sent an expedition to Comoros in 1992
to bring
some of the bats to Britain to establish a breeding
population.
Humboldt's flycatcher is perhaps the best known of the
birds
native to Comoros. .
Partly in response to international pressures, Comorans
in
the 1990s have become more concerned about the
environment. Steps
are being taken not only to preserve the rare fauna, but
also to
counteract degradation of the environment, especially on
densely
populated Nzwani. Specifically, to minimize the cutting
down of
trees for fuel, kerosene is being subsidized, and efforts
are
being made to replace the loss of the forest cover caused
by
ylang-ylang distillation for perfume. The Community
Development
Support Fund, sponsored by the International Development
Association
(IDA
--a World Bank affiliate--see Glossary)
and the
Comoran government, is working to improve water supply on
the
islands as well.
The climate is marine tropical, with two seasons: hot
and
humid from November to April, the result of the
northeastern
monsoon, and a cooler, drier season the rest of the year.
Average
monthly temperatures range from 23° C to 28° C along the
coasts.
Although the average annual precipitation is 2,000
millimeters,
water is a scarce commodity in many parts of Comoros.
Mwali and
Mahoré possess streams and other natural sources of water,
but
Njazidja and Nzwani, whose mountainous landscapes retain
water
poorly, are almost devoid of naturally occurring running
water.
Cyclones, occurring during the hot and wet season, can
cause
extensive damage, especially in coastal areas. On the
average, at
least twice each decade houses, farms, and harbor
facilities are
devastated by these great storms.
Data as of August 1994
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