12 [No. 97 GEOGRAPHY : SOKOTRA SOKOTRA ( 1 ) POSITION SOKOTRA is the most easterly, and by far the largest, of a group of four islands, under British protection, which lie in the Indian Ocean to the east-north-east of Cape Guardafui. These islands command the ocean trade-route from the Suez Canal to the East and to Australasia .

Sokotra is about 130 miles from Cape Guardafui and about 190 miles south-south-east of Ras Fartak , the nearest point on the Arabian coast . It lies between 12° 19' and 12° 42 ' north latitude and 53° 20 ' and 54° 30 ' east longitude. It has an extreme length from east to west of about 71 miles, an extreme breadth from north to south of about 22 miles, and an area of about 1,250 square miles.

(2 ) SURFACE AND COAST Surface The greater part of the main island consists of a stony, arid, undulating limestone plateau, with an average altitude of about 1,200 ft. The plateau ends in abrupt cliffs falling in some places to the sea, and elsewhere to diluvial plains, with a length varying from 1 to 50 miles and a width of as much as 5 miles from the sea -shore. The plateau rises to Mount Haghier, a broad ridge of granitic rock, fertile and well-watered, situated on the north side of the island, east of its centre. The ridge is some 20 miles long from east to west and 10 miles broad, with an extreme altitude of about 4,900 ft.

1 For the other islands see below , p . 18.