Tromelin Island
island in the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean
Tromelin Island (; French: Île Tromelin, pronounced [il tʁɔmlɛ̃]), once called the Isle of Sand, is a low, flat island in the Indian Ocean about 500 km (310 mi; 270 nmi) north of Réunion and about 450 km (280 mi; 240 nmi) east of Madagascar. Both France and Mauritius claim sovereignty over the islands, and France includes it in the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean, the fifth district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
Tromelin has facilities for scientific expeditions and a weather station. It is a nesting site for birds and green sea turtles.
Etymology
The island is named in honour of Jacques Marie Boudin de Tromelin de La Nuguy, captain of the French corvette Dauphine. He arrived at the island on 29 November 1776, and rescued eight stranded enslaved Malagasy people who had been on the island for 15 years.
Description
Tromelin is situated in the Mascarene Basin and is part of the Îles Éparses. It is currently only 7 m (23 ft) high. It formed as a volcano, now eroded, and developed an atoll ring of coral.
Tromelin is about 1,700 m (1.1 mi) long and 700 m (0.43 mi) wide, with an area of 80 hectares (200 acres), covered in scrub dominated by octopus bush and surrounded by coral reefs.
The public source identifies “Tromelin Island” as island in the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Tromelin, Island and island.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Tromelin Island”, the useful work is to connect “island in the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q234208. VIAF identifies the subject as 147921347. Authority coordinates are -15.892, 54.525. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1776.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Tromelin Island”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Tromelin Island primary sources, Tromelin Island archive and Tromelin research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Tromelin Island”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Tromelin Island” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.