Cosmoledo Atoll is an atoll of the Aldabra Group and belongs to the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, and is located southwest of the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island. History The name Cosmoledo is said to honor a Portuguese navigator who was part of Juan de Nova's crew. Menai and Wizard Islands were named after ships that explored the atoll on the Moresby Expedition in 1822. In 1878, Sergeant Rivers visited the atoll and reported that judging by the turtle remains on the beach, the atoll was frequently visited by fishermen and whalers. He found a recently destroyed hut and ‘turtle park’ on Menai; a hut on the southern point of Wizard built from the wreckage of the Merry Monarch (wrecked in April 1874), which had been burnt. He reported that Menai was virtually covered with tall mangroves. Cosmoledo was settled shortly after this and a visitor in 1895, noted 200-300 coconut trees, maize and goats. By 1901 there were just two men on Menai, one on Wizard and four on North-east Island. Exploitation of guano on North-east Island was taking place in 1901, when 120 tons had been removed. A few years later, mangrove bark had become an important product; it was dried and exported for tannin. The atoll was inhabited as a fishing and turtling station until 1992 when it was abandoned. Geography Cosmoledo Atoll is a raised coral atoll that is 17 km long east–west, and 12.5 km north–south. The islands land area is 5.2 km2, and the lagoon and the reef flats have an area of 145 km2. The closest island is Astove Island, 35 km farther south. The lagoon is up to 8.2 metres deep. Geologically, it is the twin of Astove Island, standing on the same volcanic basement measuring 85 km from north to south and 52 km from east to west and rising from a depth of over 4 km. The two islands are sometimes known together as the Cosmoledo Group. The two peaks join at a depth of around 1 km. Unlike the steep wall of Astove, the sea floor falls gradually to about 50 metres over a distance of up to a kilometer then more steeply reaching 500 metres in about 1.5 km. Two main passes lead from the ocean to the shallow lagoon, one northwest of South Island and one (Grande Passe) between Pagoda Island and Wizard Island. On the