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 The geography of Mauritius
Location and origin
The island of Mauritius lies in the southern hemisphere in the middle of the Indian Ocean (coordinates 57°30’ east and 20° 20’ south), approx. 560 miles (900 km) to the east of Madagascar and approx. 1240 miles (2000 km) south of the Seychelles.
The distance from central Germany to Mauritius is approx. 5700 miles (9200 km) as the crow flies.
 The island state of Mauritius comprises the two larger islands of Mauritius
and Rodrigues as well as some smaller islands off the coast of Mauritius and the remote islands of Agalega and St. Brandon.
The main island, Mauritius, has an area of 720 square miles (1,865 km²); taking into account the island of Rodrigues and the other smaller islands the entire country covers a total surface area of 788 square miles (2040 km²) .
Along with Rodrigues and La Réunion, Mauritius forms part of the Mascarene archipelago, which arose about 7 million years ago as a result of volcanic activity. Whereas the volcano on the island of La Réunion is still active, those on Mauritius have been extinct for roughly 100,000 years. The upland mountains still bear witness to the gigantic volcanoes that were once found there.
The Trou aux Cerfs crater close to the town of Curepipe and the holy lake of Grand Bassin also clearly point to Mauritius' volcanic past.
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