Great Nicobar Island

In the 15th century, Great Nicobar Island was recorded as "Cui Lan island" (翠蘭嶼) during the voyages of Zheng He in the Mao Kun map of the Wu Bei Zhi.[3]

Great Nicobar island was severely affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake tsunami with many deaths, and was cut off from all outside contact for more than a day.

The island of Sumatra is located 180 km (110 mi) to the south of Great Nicobar. The island covers 921 km² (356 sq mi) but is sparsely inhabited, with a population of 8067, largely being covered by rainforest and known for its diverse wildlife.

The island is home to the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, Indira Point – the southernmost point of India and INS Baaz naval air station near Campbell Bay under the joint-services Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) of the Indian Armed Forces.[4] It is the southernmost air station of the Indian Armed Forces.[5]

The island is home to the Shompen people.[6]

The island has several rivers, including the Alexandra, Amrit Kaur, Dogmar and Galathea. Virtually all rivers flow in a southern or southwesterly direction, which is indicative of the general slope of the terrain across the island. There are undulating hills throughout the island, with the main range running in a north-south orientation. Mount Thullier, which is part of this range, has the highest elevation of any point in the Nicobars, at 642 m above sea level.[7]

Indira Point (6°45’10″N and 93°49’36″E) is the southernmost point of the Great Nicobar Island and India itself. Indira Point subsided 4.25 m in the 26 December 2004 tsunami and the lighthouse there was damaged. The lighthouse was subsequently made functional.

The majority of the island is designated as the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve— home to many unique and endemic species of plants and animals including the Nicobar scrubfowl (Megapodius nicobariensis, a megapode bird), the edible-nest swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus), the Nicobar long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis umbrosa), saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), giant leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Malayan box turtle, Nicobar tree shrew, reticulated python (Python reticulatus) and the giant robber crab (or coconut crab, Birgus latro).

There is a 915m airstrip at Campbell Bay/Tenlaa on the East coast.[8][9]

• Seaport: At least one small shipping dock is located in Campbell Bay.

Indira Point is the name of the southernmost point of Republic of India. It is situated on Great Nicobar Island in the Nicobar Islands, which are located in the eastern Indian Ocean at 6°45’10″N and 93°49’36″E. This is not on the Indian mainland, but within the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The name of the point was changed from Pygmalion Point on 18 October 1985[10] in commemoration of Indira Gandhi. It was formerly known by various names that include Pygmalion Point, Parsons Point, and for a brief period India Point.[11]

It is located 540 km and more than a day's sea voyage from Port Blair,[12] the capital city and main port of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is approximately 163 km by sea from Sumatra, Indonesia.[11] Rondo Island, Indonesia's northernmost island in Sabang district of Aceh province of Sumatra, lies south of Indira point.[13] India and Indonesia are planning to collaborate to construct a port at Sabang to protect the channel between Great Nicobar Island and Rondo Island (c. May 2019).[14]

• Andaman Sea
• INS Baaz
• List of extreme points of India
• Extreme points of Indonesia

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  Map
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  Map of Great Nicobar Island
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  Locator

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Nicobar.

• "Nicobar completely devastated" – from rediff.com
• 2001 Census – from the Andaman & Nicobar Police
• Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands travel guide from Wikivoyage