Zuqar Island

Zuqar Island (Arabic: جزيرة زقر, romanized: jazīra zuqar) is an island in the Red Sea that belongs to Yemen. It lies between the coasts of mainland Yemen and Eritrea, near the Bab-el-Mandeb straits which connect the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Despite its proximity to the African continent, Zuqar Island is considered a part of Asia because it sits on the Asian continental shelf. It is appropriately 130 square kilometres (50 sq mi).

Zuqar Island

Native name: Arabic: جزيرة زقر, romanized: jazīra zuqar
NASA Landsat image of the island
Geography
Location	Red Sea
Coordinates	14.024°N 42.765°E / 14.024; 42.765
Archipelago	Hanish Islands

The island consists of a shield volcano overlain by basaltic pyroclastic cones and spatter cones which produced youthful-looking pahoehoe lava flows. Several small coastal cones and islets surrounding Zuqar Island were formed by phreatic eruptions.

Ownership

Ownership of Zuqar Island was long disputed between Yemen and Eritrea, along with the Hanish Islands. In 1995 this led to the active Hanish Islands conflict. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague settled the dispute in 1996, awarding the larger islands, including Zuqar, to Yemen.

See also

• List of islands of Yemen