Geographic glossary

Alor Islands (Indonesia)

The Alor Islands are located in the northern part of Nusa Tenggara province, Timur, Indonesia. Alor, situated approximately 65 kilometers from Timor, is the name of an archipelago that forms the easternmost part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. The coast of East Timor can be seen from Kolana Beach on the eastern side of Alor Island itself. The archipelago consists of 15 islands, the largest of which, besides Alor, are Pantar, Pura, Ternate (not to be confused with the island of the same name in the Moluccas), Treweng, Buaya, Kangge, and Kepa. The archipelago has a population of 168,000. The majority (75%) are Protestant, with the remainder being predominantly Muslim, except for a few Catholic villages. As elsewhere in Indonesia, traditional beliefs and practices remain very much alive.

Cap Roux (France)

Cap Roux is a pioneering area. A ministerial decree dated December 3, 2003, designated it a protected zone. This decree was renewed last January for six years.
The Cap Roux protected area was chosen for its biodiversity, which allows for fish reproduction (increasing species richness and quantity in terms of both density and size). Its effectiveness stems from the presence of habitats, the prohibition of fishing, and compliance with regulations. Its size, approximately 400 to 450 hectares, makes it the largest area with strict protection (all forms of fishing are prohibited) in mainland France.

île d’Or  (France)

Île d’Or (meaning Gold Island) is a private island located east of Saint-Raphaël, near Cap du Dramont. This rocky islet, composed of reddish rocks, is topped by a medieval-looking tower which is said to have inspired Hergé for the Tintin album, The Black Island.

Lerins Islands (France)

The Lérins Islands are Mediterranean islands located off the coast of Cannes, the French commune of Cannes, of which they are administratively a part, in the Alpes-Maritimes department.
They form an archipelago composed of:

• Sainte-Marguerite Island (the largest), bordered to the east by the uninhabited islet of La Tradelière;
• Saint-Honorat Island, home to a monastery and several 5th-century churches, bordered to the east by the uninhabited islet of Saint-Ferréol.

These islands have a Mediterranean climate and arid vegetation consisting of pine forests.
These islands are also famous for having been the prison of the Man in the Iron Mask.

Raja Ampat (Indonesia)

The Indonesian archipelago of Raja Ampat (“the four kings” in Malay) is located off the northwest coast of New Guinea. It consists of some 1,500 islands, many of them mountainous, the largest being Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, and Misool. The archipelago’s total area is approximately 46,000 km². It lies at the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. The majority of its islands rest on the Sahul continental shelf. Raja Ampat is part of the province of West Papua, which was separated from the province of Papua in 2003.
The archipelago then gained the status of a regency (kabupaten). The 2001 census recorded a population of 47,771. Raja Ampat is located in the “Coral Triangle“, the world’s heartland of coral biodiversity, and in a sea that contains perhaps the richest diversity of coral species (75% according to The Nature Conservancy) known in the world.