Seabed surveys of Victoria harbour, Mahe, Seychelles

Abstract

The seabed surveys in the Victoria Harbour, Mahe, Seychelles shows that the prominent feature is the navigational channel aligned in the northeast-southwest direction with a width varying from 300 to 450m. The depth in the channel ranges from 14 to 25 m. Almost whole of the channel area shows even topography howeer, the area adjacent to the wharf shows uneven topography with a variation ranging between 1 and 3 m. The distribution of the inner harbour is much diversified than the outer harbour sediments. The percentage of carbonate is higher (95%) in the outer harbour than the inner harbour (90%) which is attributed to the effects of streams. The changes in the distribution pattern of quartz and feldspars are inferred due to the effects of dredging during the construction and/or maintenance of the harbour