Socotra, also called Soqotra. It can be spelt Sokotra. It is located between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, is the largest of four islands of the Socotra archipelago. The territory is located near major shipping routes and is officially part of Yemen, and had long been a subdivision of the Aden Governorate.
Socotra is one of the most isolated landforms on Earth of continental origin (i.e. not of volcanic origin). The archipelago was once part of the supercontinent of Gondwana and detached during the Miocene epoch, in the same set of rifting events that opened the Gulf of Aden to its northwest.
Visiting the island of Socotra in Yemen can seem like you’re on another planet. More than 30% of the island’s plant life, including the dragon blood tree that bleeds bright red sap when it’s cut, isn’t found anywhere else on earth.
