EVS-Islands: Egmont Islands BP -My Best Map Yet

Egmont Islands BP

This is going to be my last project for awhile. I need a break for a few weeks from the demands of creating unique maps, researching and posting information about my projects. I have been spending way too much time with my PC and not enough time with the people I love.

Enough said.

Now about Egmont Islands. I feel this map is exquisite. It marks the first time I've mapped coral heads. They were a challenge to digitize and map, but ultimately they turned out nice. The vegetation layers were approximately mapped. All of the different layers of this map were well done. This map is useful at scales as large as 1:12,500 to 1:6,250.

Just a brief note on the recent history of this group of islands. They are part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The most well-known island within the BIOT is Diego Garcia. Egmont Islands, located 60-kms from Diego Garcia, at one time had a population of 60-people. Today, the Egmont Islands are uninhabited. There is a remnant coconut plantation on the three larger islands. Eventually, it is hoped that the islands will revert back to their natural state. That is one of the alleged reasons the indigenous population was removed from all of the islands in BIOT. A judge in England has since ruled that the forced removal was illegal and if the original inhabitants want to return to their island homes, they can. However, when they try to return, they are turned away by the major leasee operating out of Diego Carcia - the United States military.

I am not sure there is a mutually agreeable solution. The US military will keep unwanted inhabitants away from these islands as long as they deem it necessary. In the meantime, these pristine islands are gradually reverting back to their natural state. Good for them, bad for the Chagossians.

view Egmont Islands on Google Maps