• Source: Nelsons Island

Nelsons Island or Nelson Island or Île Legour is a small uninhabited island in the Great Chagos Bank, of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. As a protected nature reserve, access to the island is strictly restricted.
The island is administered by the British Indian Ocean Territory, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, but sovereignty is disputed by Mauritius.




Geography


The island is the northernmost and the easternmost island of the Great Chagos Bank, which is the world's largest coral atoll structure. The nearest neighbouring island is Île Boddam in the Salomon Islands, 22 miles (35 km) north-northwest from Nelsons Island. The island is 11 miles SSE of the wholly submerged Victory Bank atoll.
Nelsons Island occupies the only emerging reef structure in the northern fringe of the Great Chagos Bank. The island stretches in an East-West direction, with a length of 1.6 km (1 mi) and 250 m (820 ft) wide in its broadest area. There is a small, low-lying islet to the east called Îlot Legour.
In terms of its geology, detailed photographic images show evidence of a coral limestone core that has been overlaid by sandy loam.




History


The first recorded discovery of the island was by a Mr Legour from Port Louis, Mauritius in 1820, with the island initially being called Isle Legour.
There are no records of the island being inhabited, even between the 17th and the 20th century when there were coconut plantations on other islands of the Chagos Archipelago.




Wildlife


Nelsons Island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International, and is legally protected as a Strict Nature Reserve – making it an offence to visit the island without the written permission of the BIOT Administration.
An expedition in 2018 estimated the island was home to as many as 3000 roosting red-footed boobies, a population of brown boobies, a significant colony of wedge tailed shearwaters, as well as around 6500 nesting pairs of lesser noddies.
Birds benefit from the island being free from rats. The island also has a population of Meadow Argus butterflies.
Owing to its remoteness there has always been a population of nesting sea turtles.
The island is unique for the Chagos for having only two species of tree, Coconut and Pisonia, which both appear to have arrived naturally. The island is otherwise covered by the shrubs Scaveola and Argusia.
One of the major problems affecting the native wildlife is the significant accumulation of plastic bottles and other assorted debris such as damaged fishnets, shoes as well as an assortment of plastic and polystyrene materials that are washed up by localised ocean currents, winds and sea-storms. Such debris was captured in images during the Catlin Seaview Survey in 2015.




References



Griffiths, J.D. ed. 1978-9 Joint Services Expedition to the Chagos Archipelago. MOD Publication, London 1979




External links


Chagos research papers and books
Google Street View Feb 2015
• Source: Nelson's Island

Nelson's Island (Arabic: جزيرة_جريشة or جزيرة نيلسون) is an island located in Abū Qīr Bay, off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. It is a local site for picnics and recreation, and is the location of a group of British graves dating from the Napoleonic Wars. It was named after Horatio Nelson, the famous British admiral.
In 2000, Italian archaeologist Dr Paolo Gallo discovered a series of graves on the island. Further digging and research (in collaboration with British historian Nick Slope) determined that the graves dated from the 1798 Battle of the Nile, and another land battle in 1801. The remains of British officers, sailors, marines, women, and children were uncovered.
On 18 April 2005 the remains of thirty Royal Navy sailors and officers recovered from the island were buried at Chatby Commonwealth War Cemetery in Alexandria. Only one body, that of Master and Commander James Russell, was positively identified. The interment was attended by Sir Derek Plumbly KCMG, the then British Ambassador to Egypt; Alan Cobden, HM Consul-General to Alexandria at the time; General Abdel Salam El Mahgoub, the Governor of Alexandria; members of the crew of HMS Chatham, and a descendant of Commander Russell.




Resources


Smith, Tannalee. "30 Members of British Fleet Reburied". Associated Press, April 18, 2005.
"Women in Nelson's Navy" - BBC
"Reburial for Nelson's comrades" - BBC
Women Fought With Nelson's Heroes of the Nile, Archaeologists Discover

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• The Coral Island
• William Haade
• Nelsons Island
• Nelson Island
• Nelson's Island
• Chagos Archipelago
• List of islands in the Chagos Archipelago
• Nelson
• List of islands of the United Kingdom
• Nelsons
• Nelson Island (Alaska)
• Meadow argus