[HCDX] Where in the world is .....

[Fireprof73@xxxxxxx]

.... Diego Garcia?  

(You may edit the following as needed should you wish to publish it)

If you are like me, you've heard of Diego Garcia but may not remember where 
it is located, (or maybe you did not wish to admit you couldn't remember 
where it is located).  With the possibility of the Armed Forces Network 
starting HF broadcasts from this location I set out to locate it and found my 
three World Atlases did not show a map location for Diego Garcia.   

So I consulted a couple other sources, one being the Internet.  Diego Garcia 
is part of the "British Indian Ocean Territory" and is considered a separate 
country / a "British Dependent Territory".  It is located at approximately 7 
minutes 18 degrees south and 72 minutes 26 degrees east, or in the Indian 
Ocean half way between Africa and Indonesia.  

According to my other source "The Cambridge Factfinder" the British Island 
Ocean Territory / Chagos Archipelago,  is located 1900 kilometers northeast 
of Mauritius.  This source states there are about 2300 islands in the group 
comprising the Chapos Archipelago, of which Diego Garcia is a part.  

According to "The Cambridge Factfinder" the area was "acquired"  by France in 
the 18th Century, "annexed" by Britain in 1814, and "bought by the Crown" in 
1967.  The indigenous "population working on copra plantations were resettled 
in Mauritius or the Seychelles between 1967 and 1973",  and "construction of 
a naval and air base by Britain and US started on Diego Garcia, the largest 
island".  

The population?  Again according to "The Cambridge Factfinder": "population 
total, 1982 estimate, 3000; no permanent civilian population".   

"The Cambridge Factfinder" (a reference book), and various Internet sources 
have maps indicating the major islands in the group.  

(Lee Silvi, August 12, Mentor, Ohio USA)
_______________________________________________
Hard-Core-DX mailing list
Hard-Core-DX@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www2.hard-core-dx.com/mailman/listinfo/hard-core-dx
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/