Chagos


Chagos

 

a British archipelago in the Indian Ocean. Area, approximately 200 sq km. The Chagos Archipelago consists of five groups of coral atolls, which represent the tops of peaks of the submarine Maldive Ridge and are surrounded by coral reefs. The economy is based on fishing and the raising of coconut palms. An American military base is located on Diego Garcia, which, with an area of 25 sq km, is the largest atoll in the archipelago.


Chagos

 

a narrow trench in the central part of the Indian Ocean, at the foot of the submarine Maldive Ridge, east of the Chagos Archipelago. The Chagos Trench is bounded on the west by a ridge with a height of 1,000 to 2,000 m and on the east by a submarine swell with a height reaching 1,000 m. The trench is 900 km long and as much as 5,408 m deep. The width of its flat bottom is approximately 15 km. Foraminiferal oozes constitute the sediment in the Chagos Trench, which has a strong bottom current.