Los Islands

▪ archipelago, Guinea

French  Îles De Los,  

      small archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, off Conakry, the capital of Guinea, West Africa. They provide protection for the port of Conakry and include Tamara (Factory), Kassa, Roume (Crawford), Blanche (White), and De Corail (Coral) and several smaller islets. Tamara, the largest (8 miles [13 km] long and 1–2 miles [1.6–3 km] wide), has the highest point of elevation (499 feet [152 m]). Only Tamara and Kassa have sizable settlements (Fotoba and Cité de Kassa). The group, named for the sacred idols (los idolos) found there by early Portuguese navigators, are of volcanic origin and are covered with palm trees.

      Bauxite mining began on Kassa in 1949, but supplies were depleted in 1966. Tamara's deposits were worked from 1967 until they were exhausted in 1972.

      In 1812 the British established a garrison on Tamara to control slave trading and piracy; and in 1818 Sir Charles MacCarthy, governor of Sierra Leone, obtained the islands from the Baga tribe. They were ceded to the French in 1904 and became part of independent Guinea in 1958.

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