D'Arros Island
D'Arros Island is located only 2 km west of the northern part of St. Joseph Atoll, but it is a separate geographical unit, separated by 60 to 62 m deep water of a 1.1 km wide channel, which is deeper than much of the Amirantes Bank. It is an oval-shaped, flat coral sand cay, oriented northeast-southwest, 1.9 km long and 1.0 km wide, and nowhere higher than 3 m. The island stands on a detached patch reef similarly orientated, with maximum dimensions of 2.8 and 1.4 km. A shallow sand spit extends 0.8 km northeast from it. The island stands on the northern sector of the reef. There are drying reef flats 250 to 400 m wide on its south side, but only a narrow fringing reef about 75 m wide on its north side. The land area of the island occupies 1.5 km². Much of the island area is covered by vegetation. The tree tops reach a height of 27 m. The vegetation is dominated by coconut palms and Casuarina equisetifolia.
The privately owned island has a hotel. It is permanently inhabited by the hotel staff only. There is a small cultivated area. An unpaved airstrip 975 m long bisects the island (ICAO code FSDA). There are no regular flights but, occasionally, scheduled flights to nearby Desroches divert to D’Arros.
The island bears the name of the Baron d'Arros, Marine Commandant at Mauritius, then Isle de France, from 1770 to 1771.
Read more about this topic: Amirante Islands
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