Diego Garcia

File:Nasa diego garcia.jpg

Satellite image of Diego Garcia

File:DG Ariel Plantation.jpg

Former coconut plantation at east point on the island. This used to be the main settlement.

File:Ted Morris on Diego Garcia.jpg

Unpaved road, in the part of the island where the plantations were

Diego Garcia is an atoll of the Chagos Archipelago, just south of the equator. It is the island with the largest landmass in the archipelago. Today, the archipelago is the only settled place in the Mauritius. It is 1,863 kilometres (1,158 mi) east of Paislin island of the Seychelles. The United States run a military base on the island.

The archipelago has a landmass of about 27 square kilometres (10 sq mi), the lagoon has an area of about 174 square kilometres (67 sq mi). In 2021, about 4,200 people, all of them military personnel lived on Diego Garcia. There is an airport, and a small harbor on the island. Communication is done using satellite.

History

The Portuguese discovered it, and the French settled it in the 1790s. It used to be part of Mauritius. After the Napoleonic Wars, Mauritius became a British colony. Diego Garcia is 733 kilometres (455 mi) south of Gan Island, the southernmost island of the Maldives.

Following resumed negotiations a treaty was signed on 22 May 2025 that will formally transfer the sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius once it comes into effect, while the Diego Garcia military base remains under British control during a 99-year lease. The agreement may be renewed for an additional 40 years after the initial 99-year period, and for an additional period thereafter.

Diego Garcia Media

• Barochois Maurice, Diego Garcia.jpg

  Barachois Maurice, Diego Garcia

• Consolidated PBY Catalina wreck on Diego Garcia 1982.jpg

  Catalina wreck on the beach

• Seychelles Governor inspection 1972.jpg

  Sir Bruce Greatbatch, Governor of the Seychelles, oversaw the depopulation of Chagossians from the Chagos Archipelago.

• The O Club on Diego Garcia.jpg

  This 1982 photo shows an unpaved road made of crushed coral common throughout the island and the officers' dining area at the Diego Garcia Naval Support Facility.

• Island couple.jpg

  USAF photographer's photo