COMORO ISLANDS, a group of volcanic islands belonging to France, in the Indian Ocean, at the northern entrance of the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and the African conti nent. There are besides a large number of islets of coral forma tion. Particulars of the four principal islands Great Comoro, Anjuan, Mayotte and Moheli, follow: I. Great Comoro, or Angazia, the largest and most westerly, has a length of about 38 m., with a width of about 12 m. Near its southern extremity it rises into a fine dome-shaped active volcano, Kartola (Karthala), which is over 8,5oo ft. high, and is visible for more than 'co m. Up to about 6,000 ft. it is clothed with dense vegetation. Eruptions are recorded for the years 183o, 1855, 1858 and 1904. In the north the ground rises grad ually to a plateau some 2,000 ft. above the sea; from this plateau many regularly shaped truncated cones rise another 2,000 ft. The centre of the island consists of a desert field of lava streams, about 1,600 ft. high. The chief towns are Maroni (pop. about 2,000), Itzanda and Mitsamuli ; the first being the seat of the French administrator.
3. Mayotte, about 21 m. long by 6 or 7 m. broad, is surrounded by an extensive and dangerous coral reef. The principal heights on its extremely irregular surface are: Mavegani Mountain, which rises in two peaks to a maximum of 2,164 ft., and Uchongin, 2,10o ft. The French headquarters are on the islet of Zaudzi, which lies within the reef in 12° 46' S., 20' E. There are substantial government buildings and store-houses. On the main land opposite Zaudzi is Msapere, the chief centre of trade.
4. Moheli or Mohilla lies S. of and between Anjuan and Grand Comoro. It is 15 m. long and 7 or 8 m. at its maximum breadth. Unlike the other three it has no peaks, but rises gradually to a central ridge about 1,90o ft. in height. Fomboni (pop. about 2,000) in the N.W. and Numa Choa in the S.W. are the chief towns.
Except Great Comoro, which is arid, the islands are very fertile. There are forests of coconut palms, and among the products are rice, maize, sweet potatoes, yams, coffee, cotton, vanilla and various tropical fruits, the pawpaw tree being abundant. The fauna is allied to that of Madagascar rather than to the mainland of Africa; it includes some land birds and a species of lemur peculiar to the islands. Large numbers of cattle and sheep are reared. Turtles are caught in abundance along the coasts, and form an article of export. The climate is in general warm, but not torrid nor unsuitable for Europeans. The dry season lasts from May to the end of October, the rest of the year being rainy. The natives are of mixed Malagasy, Negro and Arab blood. Native life owes to Muslim civilization most of its external character istics. The inhabitants of Madagascar call them Antalaora (people from across the sea). The European inhabitants are mostly French. The external trade of the islands has developed since the annexation of Madagascar to France. Sugar refineries, dis tilleries of rum, and sawmills are worked in Mayotte by French settlers. Cane sugar and vanilla are the chief exports. The islands are regularly visited by vessels of the Messageries Maritimes fleet, and a coaling station for the French navy has been estab lished. The natives live on vegetables, fish, fruit and meat. They are cultivators, sailors and fishermen. They are more advanced than the Malagasy to whom in the past they have furnished many chiefs.
The islands were first visited by Europeans in the i6th century; they are marked on the map of Diego Ribero made in 1527. At that time, and for long afterwards, the dominant influence in, and the civilization of, the islands was Arab. A Sakalava chief who had been driven from Madagascar by the Hovas took refuge in Mayotte c. 183o, and, with the aid of the sultan of Johanna, conquered the island. French naval officers having reported on the strategic value of Mayotte, Admiral de Hell, governor of Reunion, sent an officer there in 1841, and a treaty was negotiated ceding the island to France. Possession was taken in 1843, the sultan of Johanna renouncing his claims in the same year. In 1886 the sultans of the other three islands were placed under French pro tection. The islands, as regulated by the decree of April 9, 1908, are under the supreme authority of the governor-general of Mada • gascar. The archipelago as a whole is entitled "Mayotte and dependencies." The local administration is in the hands of an official who himself governs Mayotte from his residence at Zaudzi but is represented in the other islands by administrators. On the council which assists the governor are two nominated native notables. In 1910 the sultan of Great Comoro ceded his sovereign rights to .France.
The Iles Glorieuses, three islets 16o m. N.E. of Mayotte, with a population of some 20 souls engaged in the collection of guano and the capture of turtles, were in 1892 annexed to France and placed under the control of the administrator of Mayotte.