evidence: Bassas da India (French pronunciation: [basa da ɛ̃dja]; Malagasy: Nosy Bedimaky) is an uninhabited, roughly circular atoll located in the southern Mozambique Channel, about halfway between Mozambique and Madagascar (about 385 km [239 mi] further east) and around 110 km (68 mi) northwest of Europa Island. It is administered by France as part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, though it is claimed by Madagascar. The rim of the atoll averages around 100 metres (330 ft) in width and encloses a shallow lagoon of depth no greater than 15 m (49 ft). Overall, the atoll is about 10 km (6.2 mi) in diameter, rising steeply from the seabed 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) below to encircle an area (including lagoon) of 80 km2 (31 sq mi). Its exclusive economic zone, 123,700 km2 (47,800 sq mi) in size, is contiguous with that of Europa Island.[1] [...] History [edit]The Bassas da India was first recorded by Portuguese explorers in the early sixteenth century as the "Baixo da Judia" ("Jewess Shoals"). The Judia ("Jewess", for the ancestry of its owner Fernão de Loronha[2]) was the Portuguese ship that discovered the feature by running aground on it in 1506.[3] The name became "Bassas da India" due to transcription errors by cartographers. The Santiago broke up on the shoal in 1585.