The Zanzibar Archipelago (Funguvisiwa la Zanzibar, in Swahili, Arabic: أرخبيل زنجبار) is a group of islands off the coast of mainland Tanzania in the sea of Zanj. The archipelago is also known as the Spice Islands.

The Zanzibar Archipelago
Unguja and Pemba Islands

There are three main islands with permanent human settlements, Zanzibar island, Pemba island, and Mafia island. There is also a fourth coral island, Latham island, that serves as an essential breeding ground for seabirds. There are also a number of smaller islets that surround these islands.[1]

Most of the archipelago belongs to the Zanzibar semi-autonomous zones of Tanzania, while the neighboring Mafia Archipelago and its associated islets are parts of the Pwani Region on the Tanzanian mainland.6°33′S 39°34′E / 6.550°S 39.567°E / -6.550; 39.567

List of islands

edit

Main islands

edit
 
An enlargeable, detailed map of Unguja
 
An enlargeable, detailed map of Pemba
  • Unguja Island – the largest island, colloquially referred to as Zanzibar, has 896,721 inhabitants
  • Pemba Island – the second-largest island with 406,808 inhabitants
  • Mafia Island – the third-largest island with 66,180 inhabitants

Surrounding Unguja Island

edit

Surrounding Pemba Island[2]

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Lizzie Williams (2005). Africa Overland. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 1-77007-187-3.
  2. ^ Pemba - The clove island 1:100,000, Map & Guide, 2013, Dept. of Surveys and mapping, Chake-Chake

Further reading

edit
  • Finke, J. (2006) The Rough Guide to Zanzibar (2nd edition). New York: Rough Guides.
edit