Marine Places
Bazaruto Archipelago
The Bazaruto Archipelago is a chain of sparsely populated islands on the coast of Mozambique, formed where sand was deposited over hundreds of thousands of years by the Limpopo River. A Marine National Park, established in 2001, covers most of the archipelago, protecting its impressive fringing reefs and kaleidoscopic range of marine life. More than 2,000 fish species, 100 species of stony corals, and 27 dazzling soft-coral species, including unusual “green tree” corals, are found on Bazaruto’s reefs, as well as eagle rays, manta rays, and five species of turtles. The archipelago is also a refuge for one of the remaining populations of dugongs in the western Indian Ocean.
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- Indian Ocean West
- Type Fringing reefs, patch reefs
- Area 60 square miles (150 square km)
- Condition Generally good; some damage
- Location Southeastern coast of Mozambique, northeast of Maputo
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