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Ritchie's Archipelago is a cluster of smaller islands which lie some east of Great Andaman, the main island group of the Andaman Islands. the Andamans are located in the Bay of Bengal, bordering with the Andaman Sea and are some south of the nearest Asian mainland, Cape Negrais in Myanmar. The archipelago comprises some 4 larger islands, 7 smaller islands and several islets, extending in a roughly north-south chain, parallel to the main Great Andaman group. Baratang Island and South Andaman Island lie to the west across Diligent Strait; the active volcano Barren Island is some further to the east. The islands were originally populated by the indigenous Great Andamanese peoples, in particular the tribal and linguistic grouping known as Aka-Bale. However, as the populations of the various Andamanese indigenous peoples declined greatly in the decades following the establishment of colonial settlements by the British Raj (and later, independent India), the indigenous communities of these islands have vanished. The present population of the islands consists of immigrant Indian and a few Karen (Burmese) settlers. Together with the rest of the Andamans, Ritchie's Archipelago is incorporated into the Indian union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and part of the Andaman district. It is administered by the ''tehsil'' (a local government sub-division, roughly equivalent to a ''county'') of Port Blair. The territory's capital and administrative centre (also called Port Blair), is located approximately to the southwest of the archipelago, accessible via a 3-5 hour ferry trip. The 2001 census of India reported 8,247 people living on the three inhabited islands of Ritchie's Archipelago: Havelock Island (5354), Neil Island (2868), and John Lawrence Island (25). ==Geography== The main islands in the archipelago (in decreasing order of approximate size) are: * Havelock Island - (pop. 5354) * Henry Lawrence Island - , named after Brigadier General Henry Montgomery Lawrence * John Lawrence Island - (pop. 25), named after John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, Viceroy of India * Sir William Peel Island - (more commonly abbreviated to ''Peel I.'') * Wilson Island - * Outram Island - , named after Lieutenant General James Outram * Neil Island - (also ''Neill I.'') (pop. 2868) * Nicholson Island - , named after Brigadier General John Nicholson * Inglis Island - (also called ''East I.'') * Sir Hugh Rose Island - (often abbreviated to ''Hugh Rose I.''), named after Hugh Rose, 1st Baron Strathnairn * Middle Button Island - * North Button Island - * South Button Island - The islands of Ritchie's Archipelago run in a closely spaced arc which extends about from the southern-most Hugh Rose I. to North Button I., with the strait between them and Great Andaman ranging from to less than . Most of the islands are clustered closely together separated by only narrow, almost river-like channels. The exceptions are Hugh Rose and Neil Is to the south of Havelock, and the three small Button Is which are smaller outliers to the north of the group. The interior of most of the islands consists of undulating hills and plains, with a topography not exceeding above mean sea level. Occasionally the land rises reasonably abruptly from the sea to a domed plateau, and there are a few rocky coastal cliffs; however, in the main the coastlines are relatively flat, interspersed by both rocky and sand beaches and some low-lying lagoons and estuaries on the larger islands. Coral reefs surround many of the islands, particularly on the "sea-ward" (i.e., eastern) coastlines. Havelock, John Lawrence, Henry Lawrence, Peel and Outram Is. have a few tidal creeks winding into their interiors; in general freshwater streams are few. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ritchie's Archipelago」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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