FRENCH SOMALILAND French Somaliland (Cote francaise des Somalis) lies at the entrance to the Red sea. The sea frontier extends from Ras Dumeira on the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, a little north of Perim Island, to Ras Gurmarle, a few miles south of the Gulf of Tajura. The protectorate is bounded north by the Danakil country; south by British Somaliland ; west by the Harrar province of Abys sinia. It extends inland at its greatest depth about 13o miles.
The country consists chiefly of slightly elevated arid plains, largely waterless save along the southern frontier. The Gulf of Tajura is 28 m. across at its entrance and penetrates inland 36 miles. At its western end an opening 87o yd. wide leads into the circular bay of Gubbet-Kharab (Hell's Mouth), behind which rise a chaotic mass of volcanic rocks, destitute of vegetation and presenting a scene of weird desolation.
The inhabitants are, on the north side of the Gulf of Tajura, chiefly Danakils (Afars, q.v.) ; on the southern shore Galla and Somali. There are a number of Arabs, Abyssinians, Indians and about 65o Europeans. The chief town, which is also the only good harbour and the seat of administration, is Jibuti (q.v.), pop. (1931), 11,366 (of whom 628 were Europeans).
The value of this small, largely arid and sparsely populated region lies in Jibuti, the only French port on the Suez canal route and the main artery of trade with Abyssinia. The railway to Addis Ababa, owned by a French company, begun in 1897, was, after many delays, completed in 1917. Four-fifths of the trade of Jibuti is in the conveyance of goods to or from Abyssinia. It serves also as a coaling station, the coal being previously imported. The chief local industries are shark and mother-of
pearl fisheries and the collection of salt from the Bahr-Assal.
The colony is administered by a governor, assisted by a nomi nated council composed of official and unofficial members. It is self-supporting, the budget (1927) balancing at about 6,000,000 francs.