Jasiirada_Khuuri

Abd al Kuri

Abd al Kuri

Second largest of four islands of the Socotra Archipelago, Yemen

Abd al Kuri (Arabic: عبد الكوري) is a rocky island in the Guardafui Channel.[4] As a part of the Socotra Archipelago[2] of the Socotra Governorate of Yemen,[3] it lies about 65 miles (105 km) southwest of the island of Socotra.[2] It consists of granite and diorite covered by limestone.[5]

Quick Facts Native name: عبد الكوري, Geography ...

Geography

Much of Abd al Kuri is semi-desert with little vegetation.[2] Two ranges of hills separated near the centre occupy the entire length of the island.[6] The northern coast consists mostly of a sandy beach with a few rocky points, while the southern coast consists of steep cliffs.[6][7] Its highest point, Mount Ṣāliḥ, reaches an altitude of over 700 metres (2,300 feet). The total area of Abd al Kuri is 133 km2 (51 sq mi). Most of its inhabitants subsist on fishing.[2] Kilmia is the main village.[8]

Flora and fauna

Abd al Kuri has a number of endemic plant species[2] including Ruellia kuriensis and Convolvulus kossmatii.

It is home to an endemic bird, the Abd al-Kuri sparrow with estimated population of fewer than 1,000.[9][10][11] The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International for the presence of the endemic sparrow as well as for colonies of red-billed tropicbirds and Persian shearwaters.[12]

Two species of lizards which are native to Abd al Kuri, Mesalina kuri and Pristurus abdelkuri, are named for the island.[13][14][15]

History

Thomas Fellowes was sent on HMS Briton in 1872 to Abd al Kuri, alongside Socotra, by British authorities to see if it would be a suitable place to settle liberated slaves. Fellowes decided against it, citing the poor living conditions on both islands.[16]

  • Native dwellings (1903)
  • View of the 'Strath' and Native Dwellings, Abd-el-Kuri, 1898
  • 1898 photograph of Jebel Saleh on Abd al Kuri, from The Natural History of Socotra and Abd-el-kuri

Map

Topographic map of Socotra archipelago; Abd al-Kuri at bottom left

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Socotra Governance & Biodiversity Project - "Welcome to Socotra" Archived 22 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine 10 June 2011.
  2. [2]
    "ʿAbd al-Kūrī." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 6 October 2011.
  3. [3]
    GeoNames National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  4. [4]
    Steele, John. Ocean Currents: A Derivative of the Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences. p. 160.
  5. [5]
    Schürmann (1974) pp. 24.
  6. [6]
    Nautical magazine (1878) pp. 809.
  7. [7]
    National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (2007) pp. 180.
  8. [8]
    Abd al Kuri Island
  9. [9]
    Abd al Kuri Sparrow Passer hemileucus
  10. [10]
    2010. "Passer hemileucus " In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. Archived 23 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Downloaded on 6 October 2011.
  11. [11]
    Redman; Fanshawe; Stevenson (2009) pp. 412.
  12. [12]
    "Abd al-Kuri (Socotra)". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  13. [13]
    Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Abd el Kuri", p. 1; "Kur", p. 148).
  14. [14]
    "Mesalina kuri ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  15. [15]
    "Pristurus abdelkuri ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  16. [16]
    Symposium, Colston Research Society (1974). Foreign Relations of African States: Proceedings of the Twentyfifth Symposium of the Colston Research Society Held in the University of Bristol, April 4th to 7th, 1973. Butterworths. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-408-70623-0.

Bibliography
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Jasiirada_Khuuri, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.