Editing Geography of Seychelles (section)

==Physical features==
The archipelago consists of 155 islands and thirty prominent rock formations scattered throughout a self-proclaimed [[exclusive economic zone]] of more than {{convert|1350000|km2}} of ocean.<ref name=":0" /> Some forty islands are [[Granite|granitic]] and lie in a {{convert|90|km|adj=on}} radius from Mahé, the main island.<ref name=":0" /> The remaining islands are [[Coral island|coralline]], stretching over a {{convert|1,200|km|adj=on}} radius from [[Vache Island, Seychelles|Ile Aux Vaches]] in the northeast to the [[Aldabra Atoll]] in the southwest.<ref name=":0" /> The country's Inner Islands are the granitic islands plus two nearby coralline islands, [[Bird Island, Seychelles|Bird Island]] and [[Denis Island]].{{Fact|date=September 2021}} The remaining coralline islands are the [[Outer Islands (Seychelles)|Outer Islands]].{{Fact|date=September 2021}} The islands are all small—the aggregate land area is only {{Convert|455|km2}}.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=August 30, 2021|title=Seychelles|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/seychelles/|access-date=2021-09-07|website=[[The World Factbook]]|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]}}</ref>

Mahé is {{convert|25|km}} long and no more than {{convert|8|km}} wide,<ref name=":0" /> with an area of {{convert|156.7|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}.{{Fact|date=September 2021}} It contains the capital and only city, [[Victoria, Seychelles|Victoria]], an excellent port.<ref name=":0" /> Victoria lies approximately {{convert|1,600|km}} east of [[Mombasa]], Kenya; {{convert|2,800|km}} southwest of [[Mumbai]]; {{convert|1,700|km}} north of Mauritius; and {{convert|920|km}} northeast of Madagascar.<ref name=":0" /> The only other important islands by virtue of their size and population are Praslin and La Digue, situated about thirty kilometers to the northeast of Mahé.<ref name=":0" />

The granitic islands are founded on a fragment separated from the Indian continental plate during the [[Palaeocene]] about 66 million years ago during the break up of the supercontinent of [[Gondwana]]. This break-up was associated with the volcanic activity that built the [[Mascarene Plateau]].<ref name="Mart, Y 1988, Pp. 261-274">''Mart, Y. The tectonic setting of the Seychelles, Mascarene and Amirante plateaus in the western equatorial Indian Ocean'', Marine Geology Vol. 79, Issues 3–4, March 1988, Pp. 261-274</ref> These granitic islands are characterized by boulder-covered hills and mountains as high as {{Convert|940|m}} rising abruptly from the sea.<ref name=":0" /> Elsewhere, narrow coastal plains extend to the base of the foothills.<ref name=":0" /> Extensively developed [[Coral reef|coral reefs]] are found mainly on the east coasts because of the southwest [[trade winds]] and [[South Equatorial Current|equatorial current]]. Ninety-nine percent of the population is located on the granitic islands, and most are on Mahé.<ref name=":0" />

The coralline islands differ sharply from the granitic in that they are very flat, often rising only a few feet (one meter) above sea level. They have no fresh water, and very few have a resident population.<ref name=":0" /> Many, like Ile aux Vaches, Ile Denis, the Amirante Isles, Platte Island, and Coetivy Island, are sand cays upon which extensive coconut plantations have been established.<ref name=":0" /> Some of the coralline islands consist of uplifted reefs and atolls covered with stunted vegetation.<ref name=":0" /> Several of these islands have been important breeding grounds for turtles and birds, as well as the sites of extensive guano deposits, which formerly constituted an important element of the Seychellois economy but now for the most part are depleted.<ref name=":0" /> The Aldabra Islands, the largest coralline atoll with an area greater than Mahe, are a sanctuary for rare animals and birds.<ref name=":0" />

The five groups of coralline islands that make up the Outer Islands are [[Southern Coral Group]] (a collective term for [[Île Platte]] and [[Coëtivy Island]]), [[Amirante Islands]], [[Alphonse Group]] ([[Alphonse Atoll]] and [[St. François Atoll]]), [[Aldabra Group]] ([[Aldabra]] Atoll, [[Assumption Island]], and the Cosmoledo Group, consisting of [[Cosmoledo]] Atoll and [[Astove Island]]), and [[Farquhar Group]] ([[Farquhar Atoll]], [[Providence Atoll]] and St. Pierre Island).<ref name="Skerrett A., Payet M., Pool, T., Skerrett, J. and Mortimer, J. A. 2018">{{cite book |last1=Skerrett |first1=A. |title=Outer Islands of Seychelles |publisher=Camerapix |year=2018 |isbn=9781904722649}}</ref>