Tag: city

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Galapagos

San Cristobal

San Cristóbal Island (Spanish: Isla San Cristóbal) and named previously by the English as Chatham Island, is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, as well as one of the oldest geologically. It is administratively part of San Cristóbal Canton, Ecuador.

Its Spanish (and official Ecuadorian) name “San Cristóbal” comes from the patron saint of seafarers, St. Christopher. English speakers increasingly use that name in preference to the traditional English name of Chatham Island, derived from William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Ekwador

Quito

Quito (formally San Francisco de Quito) is the capital of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes, at an elevation of 2,850 m (9,350 ft), making it the second-highest capital city in the world.

Quito’s historic center is among the largest and best-preserved in the Americas. In 1978, Quito and Kraków were the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO. Quito is the capital city closest to the Equator, with its northern limits ending about 1 km (0.62 miles) south of the line.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Tonga

Vavaʻu

Vavaʻu is the island group of one large island (ʻUtu Vavaʻu) and 40 smaller ones in Tonga. It is part of Vavaʻu District which includes several other individual islands. According to tradition the Maui god fished up both Tongatapu and Vavaʻu but put a little more effort into the former. Vavaʻu rises 204 metres (669 ft) above sea level at Mount Talau. The capital is Neiafu, which is the fifth largest city in Tonga, situated at the Port of Refuge (Puatalefusi or Lolo-ʻa-Halaevalu).

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Tonga

Tongatapu

Tongatapu is the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga and the location of its capital Nukuʻalofa. It is located in Tonga’s southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country’s most populous island, with approximately 71,260 residents (2006), 70.5% of the national population, on 260 square kilometres (100 square miles). Its maximum height is 65 metres (213 feet). Tongatapu is Tonga’s centre of government and the seat of its monarchy.

Tongatapu has experienced more rapid economic development than the other islands of the Kingdom, and has thus attracted many internal migrants from them.

Tongatapu was first sighted by Europeans on 20 January 1643 by Abel Janszoon Tasman commanding two ships, the Heemskerck and the Zeehaen commissioned by the Dutch East India Company of Batavia (Jakarta). Tasman named the island “t’ Eijlandt Amsterdam” (Amsterdam Island), because of its abundance of supplies. This name is no longer used except by historians.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Maluku Islands

Kai Kecil

Kai Kecil (Little Kai Island) is a part of the Kai Islands group of the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. Its area is 399 km2. The other main island in the group is Kai Besar (Great Kai Island). It contains the major town of Tual.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Ascension

Ascension Island

Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) from the coast of Africa and 2,250 kilometres (1,400 mi) from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, of which the main island, Saint Helena, is around 1,300 kilometres (800 mi) to the southeast. The territory also includes the “remotest populated archipelago” on earth, the sparsely populated Tristan da Cunha archipelago, some thirty degrees farther south and about half the way to the Antarctic Circle.

The island is named after the day of its recorded discovery, Ascension Day, and is located at 7°56′S 14°22′W, about as far south of the equator as tropical Venezuela is to its north. Historically, it has played a role as an important safe haven and coaling station to mariners and for commercial airliners during the days of international air travel by flying boats and during World War II was an important naval and air station, especially providing antisubmarine warfare bases in the Battle of the Atlantic and throughout the war. Ascension Island was garrisoned by the British Admiralty from 22 October 1815 to 1922.

The island is the location of RAF Ascension Island, which is a Royal Air Force station with a United States Air Force presence, a European Space Agency rocket tracking station, an Anglo-American signals intelligence facility and the BBC World Service Atlantic Relay Station. The island was used extensively by the British military during the Falklands War. Ascension Island hosts one of five ground antennae (others are on Kwajalein Island, Diego Garcia, Colorado Springs and Hawaii) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigational system.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Andaman and Nicobar Islands

South Andaman Island

South Andaman Island is the southernmost island of the Great Andaman and is home to the majority of the population of the Andaman Islands. Port Blair, the capital of the islands, is located on the southern part of this island. Some areas of the island are restricted areas for non-Indians; however, transit permits can be obtained from the Home Ministry.

Like the rest of the archipelago, it was struck by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, leading to many deaths on the island. South Andaman is the third largest island in the island group. It is located immediately south of Middle Andaman Island, from which it is separated only by a narrow channel, a few hundred meters wide. The island is 93 km long and 31 km in width. Its area is 1348 km². It had a population of 181,949 as of the 2001 census. South Andaman is less mountainous than the more northerly of the Andaman Islands. Koiob reaches a height of 456.6 meters.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Maldives

Maldives

That was short cruise in the Maldives. I have visited Male Atoll, South Male Atoll, Ari (Alifu) Atoll, Felidhe (Vaavu) Atoll, Dhangeti, Guraidhoo, Dhigurah. The worst trip from all of my expeditions. Yet, I have seen the pictures of the country that are different than usually presented.

The Maldives (Listeni/ˈmɒldaɪvz/ or /ˈmɒldiːvz/), (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, Dhivehi Raa’je), officially Republic of Maldives (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, Dhivehi Raa’jeyge Jumhooriyya), also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India’s Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and Chagos Archipelago. It stands in the Laccadive Sea, about 700 kilometres (430 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka and 400 kilometres (250 mi) south-west of India. During the colonial era, the Dutch referred to the country as “Maldivische Eilanden” in their documentation, while “Maldive Islands” is the anglicised version of the local name used by the British, which later came to be written “Maldives”.

The archipelago is located on top of the Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive Ridge a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives also form a terrestrial ecoregion together with the Chagos and the Lakshadweep. The atolls of the Maldives encompass a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi), making it one of the world’s most dispersed countries in geographic terms. Its population of 313,920 (2010) inhabits 200 of its 1,192 islands. Maldives’ capital and largest city Malé had a population of 103,693 in 2006. It is located at the southern edge of North Malé Atoll, in the Kaafu Atoll. It is also one of the Administrative divisions of the Maldives. Traditionally it was the King’s Island where the ancient Maldive Royal dynasties were enthroned.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

Categories
Comoro Islands

Anjouan

Anjouan (also known as Ndzuwani or Nzwani) is an autonomous island, part of the Union of Comoros. The island is located in the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Mutsamudu and its population as of 2006 is about 277,500. The total area of the island is 424 sq. kilometers (163 sq. mi.).

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)

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Comoro Islands

Grande Comore

Grande Comore (officially called Ngazidja) is an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population as of 2006 is about 316,600. The island’s capital is Moroni, which is also the national capital. The island is made up of two shield volcanoes, with Mount Karthala being the country’s highest point at 2,361 m (7,746 ft) above sea level. According to the 2009 revision of the constitution of 2002, it is governed by an elected Governor, as are the other islands, with the federal government being much reduced in power.

For several centuries, Grande Comore was divided into a number of sultanates, including Bambao, Itsandra, Mitsamihuli, Mbajini, Hambuu, Washili, Hamahame, Mbwankuu, Mbude and Domba. The sultans were also known as mfaume. In 1886 the ruler of Bambao, Sultan Said Ali bin Said Omar, united the sultanates of Grande Comore into the state of Ngazidja, with the other sultanates maintaining autonomy. That same year, France established a protectorate over the island. In 1893 Sultan Said Ali was sent into exile on Réunion. In 1908 France annexed the island and the sultanates were abolished. In 1975 Grande Comore Anjouan and Mohéli declared independence as the nation of Comoros.

Source: Wikipedia (under GNU Free Documentation License)