Socotra

Socotra is the largest island in the Socotra Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, administered by Yemen and lying between the Gulf of Aden, the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, about 380 kilometers south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island covers roughly 3796 square kilometers and rises to 1503 meters at Mashanig in the Hajhir Mountains, and although governed by Yemen its landmass sits geologically on the Somali plate. Socotra holds exceptional levels of endemism, with about a third of its plant life found nowhere else on earth, a distinctiveness that led UNESCO to recognize it as a World Heritage Site in 2008 and as a Man and Biosphere Reserve, and the island supports roughly 60000 people, mostly indigenous Soqotri people, centered on the capital Hadibu.