List of the Mascarene Islands, where they are located, origin of the name, which are the most important islands of this archipelago located in the Indian Ocean.
List of islands
The Mascarene islands form an archipelago located in the Indian Ocean to the east of Madagascar, the most important of which are Réunion, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega and Cargados Carajos.
Origin of the name
The name Mascarene derives from the Portuguese navigator who discovered them first.
mauritius
The island of Mauritius is characterized by having a central plateau that culminates in Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire with an altitude of 828 m.
Many traces of past volcanic activity are visible such as the crater of Trou aux Cerfs and the volcanic lake of Grand Bassin.
The climate is typically tropical with hot dry winters and hot humid summers with frequent cyclones in the period from November to April.
Northwest of the island is Port Louis, which is the capital, while other important cities are Curepipe, Vacoas, Phoenix, Quatre Bornes, Rose-Hill and Beau-Bassin.
reunion
Réunion Island is a mountainous island of volcanic origin with its highest point at the Piton des Neiges with an altitude of 3,069 meters.
Rodrigues
Rodrigues, a small island belonging to the Republic of Mauritius with the capital is Port-Mathurin, was discovered in 1528 by the Portuguese navigator Diego Rodriguez.
