: Unguja (left) and Pemba (right) With a land area of it is situated about north of
Unguja, the largest island of the archipelago. Surrounded by relatively deep water, the island of Pemba is thought to have been a part of the mainland which split off along the Pemba rift approximately 10 million years ago. In 1964,
Zanzibar was united with the former colony of
Tanganyika to form
Tanzania. It lies east of mainland Tanzania, across the
Pemba Channel. Together with
Mafia Island (south of Unguja), these islands form the Spice Islands (not to be confused with the
Maluku Islands of
Indonesia). Most of the island, which is hillier and more fertile than Unguja, is dominated by small scale farming. There is also large scale farming of cash crops such as
cloves. In previous years, the island was seldom visited due to inaccessibility and a reputation for
political violence, with the notable exception of those drawn by its reputation as a center for
traditional medicine and
witchcraft. There is a quite large
Arab community on the
island, who immigrated from
Oman. The population is a mix of Arab and original
Waswahili inhabitants of the island. A significant portion of the population also identifies as
Shirazi people. The overwhelming majority of the island's population follows
Islam and identify as Muslim. The most important towns in Pemba are
Chake-Chake (the capital),
Mkoani, and
Wete, which is the largest city. The centrally located Chake-Chake is perched on a mound with a view to the west on a bay and the tiny
Misali Island, where the tides determine when a
dhow can enter the local harbour. Pemba is, with the exception of a strip of land along its eastern coast, a very fertile place: besides
clove trees, the locals grow mainly
rice,
coconut,
bananas,
cassava, and
red beans (called
maharagwe in the
Swahili language). Pemba is home to several dive sites, with steep drop-offs, untouched coral, and very abundant marine life.
Islets • Fundo – is located few miles from Wete. It is the only inhabited island among the group of islets forming the north-west reef of Pemba. The other islets there include Njao, Kashani, Kokota, Funzi, and Uvinje. • Njao – is the northernmost islet on the Fundo group. It is mainly used for agricultural purposes. • Kashani – is on the same reef as Fundo but on the southernmost tip close to Ras Mkumbuu. • Kokota – is located at the southern mouth of Wete port. • Funzi – lies east of Kokota and south of Uvinje island. • Uvinje – is used for farming and located at the southern mouth of Wete port. • Kiweni (Shamiani) – located on the south west part of Pemba, it is an uninhabited islet used mainly for farming and livestock grazing. On its southernmost tip it has a very fine beach and some prospective investors were building a hotel in the late 1990s. • Kojani – is the only inhabited island on the western side of Pemba island. It is home to some skilled artisanal fishermen in East Africa who seasonally travel to most parts of the coast in search of schools of fish to catch. • Kwata – the island was the site of the first major outbreak of cholera in 1978 when travelers were temporarily quarantined at this island before being allowed into Pemba. • Makoongwe – is few kilometers from Mkoani. It has characteristics similar to the opposite area on the island of Pemba with deep soils and hilly terrain. Makoongwe is inhabited and people do farming and fishing. • Matumbini – is an islet with dense mangrove forest and popular among fishermen due to the presence of rich coral reef. • Misali – has a rich coral reef, and has been declared a marine reserve. • Mwangi – is a small islet close to Mtambwe on the main island of Pemba. • Panza – is the southernmost island in Pemba and in fact is a series of islets but a bridge connects the two main parts of Mtondooni and Panza proper. Its topography is coral on the Panza side and deep soil on the Mtondooni part. Its inhabitants do farming and fishing. • Vikunguni – is a small islet close to the north-west group of islands. • Yombi – is a small islet east of Panza island.
Important Bird Area Pemba has been designated an
Important Bird Area (IBA) by
BirdLife International because it supports populations of
Pemba green pigeons,
Pemba scops owls,
Pemba white-eyes and
Pemba sunbirds. ==Climate==