Editing Comoros (section)

== Geography ==
{{more citations needed section|date=December 2017}}
{{Main|Geography of the Comoros}}
[[File:Cn-map.png|thumb|upright=1.35|A map of the Comoros]]

The Comoros is formed by [[Ngazidja]] (Grande Comore), [[Mwali]] (Mohéli) and [[Ndzwani]] (Anjouan), three major islands in the Comoros Archipelago, as well as many minor islets. The islands are officially known by their Comorian-language names, though international sources still use their French names (given in parentheses above). The capital and largest city, [[Moroni, Comoros|Moroni]], is located on Ngazidja and the most densely populated city is Anjouan.<ref>{{Citation |title=Comoros |date=2024-10-02 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/comoros/ |access-date=2024-10-05 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref> The archipelago is situated in the Indian Ocean, in the [[Mozambique Channel]], between the African coast (nearest to [[Mozambique]] and [[Tanzania]]) and [[Madagascar]], with no land borders.

At {{cvt|1659|km2|mi2}}, it is one of the smallest countries in the world. The Comoros also has claim to {{cvt|320|km2|sqmi}} of territorial seas. The interiors of the islands vary from steep mountains to low hills.

The areas and populations (at the 2017 Census) of the main islands are as follows:<ref name="ReferenceA">Institut Nationale de la Statistique et Études Économiques et Démographiques, Comoros (web).</ref>
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Name || Area <br />km<sup>2</sup>|| Population<br />census 2017<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
|-
| Mwali ||align="right"|211||align="right"|51,567
|-
| Ngazidja ||align="right"|1,024||align="right"|379,367
|-
| Ndzwani ||align="right"|424||align="right"|327,382
|-
| '''''Totals''''' ||align="right"|1,659||align="right"|758,316
|}

Ngazidja is the largest of the Comoros Archipelago, with an area of 1,024&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. It is also the most recent island, and therefore has rocky soil. The island's two volcanoes, [[Karthala]] (active) and [[La Grille]] (dormant), and the lack of good harbours are distinctive characteristics of its terrain. Mwali, with its capital at [[Fomboni]], is the smallest of the four major islands. Ndzwani, whose capital is [[Mutsamudu]], has a distinctive triangular shape caused by three mountain chains – [[Sima, Comoros|Shisiwani]], [[Nioumakele]] and [[Jimilime]] – emanating from a central peak, {{ill|Mount Ntingui|fr|Mont Ntringui}} ({{cvt|1575|m|ft|disp=or}}).
[[File:Gran Comore landscape.jpg|thumb|Grande Comore landscape]]
The islands of the Comoros Archipelago were formed by volcanic activity. Mount Karthala, an active [[shield volcano]] located on Ngazidja, is the country's highest point, at {{convert|2361|m|abbr=off}}. It contains the Comoros' largest patch of disappearing rainforest. Karthala is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, with a minor eruption in May 2006, and prior eruptions as recently as April 2005 and 1991. In the 2005 eruption, which lasted from 17 to 19 April, 40,000 citizens were evacuated, and the [[volcanic crater lake|crater lake]] in the volcano's {{convert|3|by|4|km|mi|frac=2|adj=on|spell=in|abbr=off}} [[caldera]] was destroyed.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

The Comoros also lays claim to the [[Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean|''Îles Éparses'' or ''Îles éparses de l'océan indien'']] (Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean) – [[Glorioso Islands]], comprising [[Grande Glorieuse]], [[Île du Lys]], [[Wreck Rock]], [[South Rock]], {{ill|Verte Rocks|fr|Roches Vertes}} (three islets) and three unnamed islets – one of France's overseas districts. The Glorioso Islands were administered by the colonial Comoros before 1975, and are therefore sometimes considered part of the Comoros Archipelago. [[Banc du Geyser]], a former island in the Comoros Archipelago, now submerged, is geographically located in the ''Îles Éparses'', but was annexed by [[Madagascar]] in 1976 as an unclaimed territory. The Comoros and France each still view the Banc du Geyser as part of the Glorioso Islands and, thus, part of its particular exclusive economic zone.

=== Climate ===
{{Main|Climate of the Comoros}}
[[File:Comoros diver with fish (5974549425).jpg|thumb|Comoros diver with fish]]
The climate is generally tropical and mild, and the two major seasons are distinguishable by their raininess. The temperature reaches an average of {{convert|29|-|30|C|F}} in March, the hottest month in the rainy season (called {{langr|sw|kashkazi/kaskazi}} [meaning north monsoon], which runs from November to April), and an average low of {{convert|19|°C|°F}} in the cool, dry season (kusi (meaning south monsoon), which proceeds from May to October).<ref>[[#Ottenheimer|Ottenheimer]], pp. 20, 72</ref> The islands are rarely subject to [[cyclone]]s.

=== Biodiversity ===
{{main|Comoros forests|Comoro Islands|Wildlife of the Comoros}}
The Comoros constitute an [[ecoregion]] in their own right, [[Comoros forests]].<ref>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Comoros forests|id=at0105}}</ref><ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |year=2017 |pages=534–545 |issn=0006-3568 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287}}</ref> It had a 2018 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 7.69/10, ranking it 33rd globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal |last1=Grantham |first1=H. S. |last2=Duncan |first2=A. |last3=Evans |first3=T. D. |last4=Jones |first4=K. R. |last5=Beyer |first5=H. L. |last6=Schuster |first6=R. |last7=Walston |first7=J. |last8=Ray |first8=J. C. |last9=Robinson |first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M. |last11=Clements |first11=T. |last12=Costa |first12=H. M. |last13=DeGemmis |first13=A. |last14=Elsen |first14=P. R. |last15=Ervin |first15=J. |last16=Franco |first16=P. |last17=Goldman |first17=E. |last18=Goetz |first18=S. |last19=Hansen |first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E. |last21=Jantz |first21=P. |last22=Jupiter |first22=S. |last23=Kang |first23=A. |last24=Langhammer |first24=P. |last25=Laurance |first25=W. F. |last26=Lieberman |first26=S. |last27=Linkie |first27=M. |last28=Malhi |first28=Y. |last29=Maxwell |first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M. |last31=Mittermeier |first31=R. |last32=Murray |first32=N. J. |last33=Possingham |first33=H. |last34=Radachowsky |first34=J. |last35=Saatchi |first35=S. |last36=Samper |first36=C. |last37=Silverman |first37=J. |last38=Shapiro |first38=A. |last39=Strassburg |first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T. |last41=Stokes |first41=E. |last42=Taylor |first42=R. |last43=Tear |first43=T. |last44=Tizard |first44=R. |last45=Venter |first45=O. |last46=Visconti |first46=P. |last47=Wang |first47=S. |last48=Watson |first48=J. E. M. |title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material |journal=Nature Communications |volume=11 |issue=1 |year=2020 |page=5978 |issn=2041-1723 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3 |pmid=33293507 |pmc=7723057 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G}}</ref>

In December 1952 a specimen of the [[West Indian Ocean coelacanth]] fish was re-discovered off the Comoros coast. The 66-million-year-old species was thought to have been long extinct until its first recorded appearance in 1938 off the South African coast.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11755015/prehistoric_fish_offers_rare_glimpse_of/ |title=Prehistoric fish offers rare glimpse of hidden sea life – Coelacanth (1953) |date=23 February 1953 |work=Abilene Reporter-News |access-date=18 June 2017 |pages=25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401075904/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11755015/prehistoric_fish_offers_rare_glimpse_of/ |archive-date=1 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Between 1938 and 1975, 84 specimens were caught and recorded.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11755368/70millionyearold_fish_dissected/ |title=70-million-year-old fish dissected – Coaelacanth (1975) |date=28 May 1975 |work=Redlands Daily Facts |access-date=18 June 2017 |pages=6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401050904/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11755368/70millionyearold_fish_dissected/ |archive-date=1 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Protected areas===
There are six national parks in the Comoros – [[Karthala]], Coelacanth, and Mitsamiouli Ndroudi on Grande Comore, [[Mount Ntringui]] and [[Shisiwani National Park|Shisiwani]] on Anjouan, and [[Mohéli National Park]] on Mohéli. Karthala and Mount Ntrigui national parks cover the highest peaks on the respective islands, and Coelacanth, Mitsamiouli Ndroudi, and Shisiwani are marine national parks that protect the island's coastal waters and fringing reefs. Mohéli National Park includes both terrestrial and marine areas.<ref>UNEP-WCMC (2021). Protected Area Profile for Comoros from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 31 August 2021. [https://www.protectedplanet.net/en/country/COM] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831155830/https://www.protectedplanet.net/en/country/COM|date=31 August 2021}}</ref>