The Island of Mauritius
The Island of Mauritius was formed
from volcanoes, which led to the beautiful mountain ranges, waterfall, cliffs,
and vast lakes that make up the physical geography it is today. "Various authors (e.g., Willaime, 1984; Saddul, 1995) have reported that the island is entirely of volcanic origin with a four stage geochronology consisiting of: The Breccia Series (10-7.8 Million Years (MY) ago); The Old Lava Series (7.6-5 MY ago); The Early Lava Series (3.5-1.7 MY ago); and The Recent Lava Series with Intermediate Lavas (0.7-0.5 MY ago) and Late Lavas 90.1-0.225 MY ago)." (geospatialworld.net) The Island is relatively small, with a
total area of 788 square miles, made up of many mountain ranges. The ocean-ocean convergence created the
island arc that Mauritius is apart of, known as the Mascarene Islands just off
the Eastern coast of the African continent in the Indian Ocean. The island is nearly surrounded by coral
reefs and sandy beaches.
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| http://www.airpano.com/360Degree-VirtualTour.php?3D=mauritius |
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| Geology Strata Map of Mauritius Showing levels of lava by age |
Mauritius Landscape 10,000 Years
Due to Mauritius’ population
density, known to be the highest of all the African countries the landscape of
Mauritius will deteriorate because of overpopulation. Mauritius has few workable mineral resources
and during the colonial era, the island experienced quick and extreme
deforestation. With the slope of the
mountain ranges, flooding and the flood plains will continue. With urban growth, Mauritius will experience
devastating floods and landslides. This
pattern will carve the landscape and deposits will reach wider depths, making
manufacturing, health and housing harder to remain stable and the island
inhabitable and simply unsafe.
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| One
of 37 locations identified as being especially vulnerable to landslides:
https://business.mega.mu/2014/01/21/landslide-hundred-houses-country-threatened/ |
Mauritius Landscape One Million Years in the Future
Mauritius Landscape in one million years will feature
many sea stacks notched cliffs with furthering longshore drifts. Looking at the island’s coastline in present
day shows a pattern of erosion that will further the processes in effect
now. Mass denudation will be visible on
the mountain ranges, while salt decay will be visible along the coast. Rocks will have gone through both processes
in salt decay creating beautiful and mesmerizing landscape throughout the
entire island. With no human inhabitants
the island will have noticeable block slides and lateral spread with the
shifting of plates from the Mascarene Plateau below in the ocean.
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| Island Coastline |
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| Salt Decay |
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| Coastal Erosion |
Mauritius Landscape Ten Million Years in
the Future
The
island of Mauritius will be a fragment of what it is today. The Island will have eroded and the parts
that are remaining will have drifted and collided with India. The current will
cause the beaches and banks of the island to erode and mini islands will form
with rocks weathered mountains.
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| Google Images |
