The Comoro Islands are a group of islands in the Mozambique Channel midway between Madagascar and the African continent. The four major islands are Njazidja (Grande Comore), Mwali (Mohéli), Nzwani (Anjouan), and Mahoré (Mayotte). France acquired control over the islands one by one over a long period between 1841 and 1909, and the islands became a French colony officially in 1912. Independence was planned for 1978 but in 1975 the Comorian parliament declared independence unilaterally. Deputies from Mayotte abstained, however, and Mayotte has remained part of the French community, since 2011 as an overseas department. The other three islands comprise the Union of the Comoros (Umoja wa Komori in Comorian). The spoken languages in the country, known as Comorian, are derived from Swahili. Arabic is taught in religious schools and French in some non-religious schools; French is the official language of government. The country has three ports: Moroni on Grande Comore, Fomboni on Mohéli, and Mutsamudu on Anjouan. It appears that each port has its own port authority, which is presumably responsible for navigational aids on its island. Currently two lights on Nzwani (Anjouan) are the only Admiralty listings for this country. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume D of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: East: Mayotte | West: Northern Mozambique
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Posted October 30, 2005. Checked and revised February 13, 2025. Lighthouses: 4. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.