Songosongo Archipelago

The Songosongo Archipelago or The Songosongo Islands (Visiwa vya Songosongo, in Swahili) is a group of islands in Kilwa District of Lindi Region's coast on the Sea of Zanj in Tanzania's Indian Ocean coast. The archipelago is composed of 21 coral reefs including the 4 coral islands. In total, the archipelago covers a land area of 8.5 km² (3.3 sq mi),^[1] and has an average elevation of 11 m (36 ft).^[2] The four Islands in the archipelago are Fanjove, Nyuni Island, Songo Songo and Okuza Island. Tanzania's geological history is very similar to that of Western Australia's northwest shelf. It has rifting from the late Jurassic, then sags in the Cretaceous and Tertiary continental shelves. The largest natural gas deposits in Tanzania are located in the Songosongo archipelago.^[3] The Islands have been found to contain 20 million tonnes worth of natural gas within the archipelago.^[4]

The Songosongo Islands

Songo Songo Island in the Songosongo archipelago
The Songosongo Islands
Geography
Location	Sea of Zanj in western Indian Ocean
Coordinates	8°31′31.8″S 39°30′16.56″E
Total islands	4
Major islands	Songosongo Island
Area	8.5 km2 (3.3 sq mi)
Highest elevation	15 m (49 ft)
Administration
Tanzania
Region	Lindi Region
District	Kilwa District
Ward	Songosongo
Demographics
Population	3,056 (2012)
Languages	Swahili
Ethnic groups	Matumbi