Robben Island (
Afrikaans Robbeneiland) or
Penguin Island[1] is an
island in
Table Bay, some seven kilometres off the coast of
Cape Town,
South Africa. The name is
Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km²
[2]. It is flat and only a few metres above sea level, as a result of an ancient erosion event. The island is composed of
Precambrian metamorphic rocks belonging to the Malmesbury Group. It is of particular note as it was here that former South African President and Nobel Laureate
Nelson Mandela and incumbent South African President
Kgalema Motlanthe[3], alongside many other political prisoners, spent decades imprisoned during the
apartheid era.