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Mauritius

Mauritius
Mauritius (fr)

Map of Mauritius.

Geography

Country

Mauritius

Archipelago

Mascarene

Location

Indian Ocean

Contact

20 18 '03 "S 57 34' 56" E / -20.300842, 57.582092 20 18 '03 "S 57 34' 56" E / -20.300842, 57.582092

Area

1 865 km ²

Climax

Piton de la Petite Rivire Noire (828 m)

Geology

Volcanic island

Administration

Demography

Population

1,268,835 inhabitants (2008).

Density

680.34 inhabitants / km ²

Largest city

Port Louis

Other information

Discovery

-600

Time Zone

UTC +4

Official site

Website of the Government

Geolocation on the map: Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius Islands

Maurice, formerly the Isle of France, is an island southwest of the Indian Ocean in the heart of the archipelago of Mascarene between the Meeting to the west and the island of Rodrigues to the east. Since 12 March 1992 , it forms with it a republic called the Republic of Mauritius after gaining independence in 1968. It accounts for 91% of the area of this State. The bulk of the population of over 1.2 million inhabitants and the capital , Port-Louis , are located.

Summary

/ / Geography

Mauritius has an area of 1866 km ^2. It measures in its larger 65 km long and 45 km wide. The highest point is the Piton of the Black River, which rises to 828 meters.

Although the original volcano , the island no longer has an active volcano. There are, however, dormant craters whose hole Cerf , who has become over the years one of the attractions. The formation of the island is dated between 100,000 and 700,000 years. Even today, one can see traces of the great caldera behind the formation of the island.

Compared to its neighbor, the island of Reunion , Mauritius has a flat terrain. Its coastal plains and central highlands have long been the extensive cultivation of sugarcane and tea. This sugar cane, the Dutch were making rum , a tradition that has remained rooted in Mauritius which has many brands of local rum, like beer Phoenix elsewhere.

Mauritius has suffered massive deforestation. The primary forest remains only in some mountainous reserves.

The barrier reef that surrounds the island helps to protect the lagoons and beaches lined with coconut palms and casuarina trees. These beaches attract many tourists.

The temperature varies between 20 and 35 degrees Celsius.

The rainfall is low in coastal regions. The center of the island (the Highlands) is wetter, hence the decision to build the Midlands Dam in the center of the island infrastructure to retain rainwater to be used in networks local streams.

The country's capital, Port Louis, is located on the west coast. The seaport is also found. It lists four other cities: Beau-Bassin/Rose-Hill, Curepipe, Quatre Bornes and Vacoas / Phoenix.

The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport is located in Placentia.

Several languages are spoken on the island: English, French, Mauritian Creole are the main ones. Then there are other languages like Hindi , the Bhojpuri , the Urdu language , the Mandarin , the Hakka (Chinese dialect), Tamil and Telugu. This linguistic plurality (ie cultural) is a feature of Mauritius.

The chain of mountains whose Pieter Botha

Topographic Map of Mauritius

Click on a thumbnail to enlarge

Population

Mauritius was first settled by the Dutch who named it Mauritius in honor of Prince Maurice of Nassau , but it was the French who founded the first colony viable. The capital, Port-Louis , and has his name and the French development, especially the Governor Bertrand-Franois Mah de La Bourdonnais , whose statue adorns the Caudan with statues of Queen Victoria and Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.

The population of Mauritius is the result of several waves of immigration: first French settlers, then British, then the slaves from Africa, then the Chinese and Indians from India to work in the fields cane sugar.

The Indos-Mauritians are most numerous: over 68% of the population of which 52% of Hindus and 16% Muslims. They have actively participated in a process of Indianisation the country, seizing political power at the expense of the traditionally dominant group formed by the white Mauritians.

The Sinos-Mauritians (less than 3% of the population) are mainly active in trade.

The rest of the population is composed of Creoles (27%), a descendant of slaves and Catholic majority, and Franco-Mauritians (Maurice White) representing 2% of the population who represent the old aristocracy.

There are 1,268,835 people in Mauritius (on ¹ July 2008).

The dodo

Main article: dodo.

Mauritius was once home to an animal no longer exists: the dodo dodo or ( Raphus cucullatus ). The dodo was a flightless bird of the family raphides , related to pigeons , who could only live in Mauritius. It was discovered in 1598 by Dutch sailors in search of spices. Marchant ill and unable to fly this big bird was the game the easiest to hunt and was quickly annihilated. Another explanation for the extermination of the dodo was the introduction on the island of rats arrived on Dutch ships, which ate the dodos' eggs. Spawning frequency of the bird is small (only one egg per year), the dodo did not long resist.

The dodo has inspired Lewis Carroll to the adventures of Alice in Wonderland. In 1990 ^References