Seychelles Geography Profile 2009

Location

archipelago in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar

Geographic coordinates

4 35 S, 55 40 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 455 sq km
land: 455 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries

0 km

Coastline

491 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate

tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May)

Terrain

Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m

Natural resources

fish, copra, cinnamon trees

Land use

arable land: 2.17%
permanent crops: 13.04%
other: 84.79% (2005)

Irrigated land

NA

Natural hazards

lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible

Environment - current issues

water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

41 granitic and about 75 coralline islands