However, the group's smaller islands, Chole, Juani, and Jibondo, are a part of the large coral reef system that runs down the East African Coast.

[5] Rice and cassava serve as the backbone of the diet in the middle ridge, which normally does not reach over 50 meters, while coconut palms are planted in the more arid regions as a commercial crop.

[7] The East African Equatorial current, which travels north, and two monsoon winds have an impact on Mafia Archipelago's hot and subhumid tropical climate.

As a sea-based region of the Swahili culture, the Mafia Archipelago has a diverse population, which reflects its turbulent past.

The islands have always been a part of the Swahili cumene, which emerged as a result of Arab and Persian infiltration of a Bantu culture starting about the first century A.D.

[10] The Mafia Archipelago later became a nominal part of the Tanganyika Mandate Territory of the League of Nations, but real administration from 1915 to 1922 was conducted out by the Zanzibar Government after the British drove the Germans off the island during World War I.

[12] At a depth of less than 20 meters below mean tide levels is where more than half of the Mafia Island Marine Park, which has an area of 822 km2, is situated.

A magnificent mosaic of tropical marine ecosystems, including mangrove swamps, coral reefs, and seagrass meadows, may be found in the area.