The Glorioso Islands (Archipel des Glorieuses) are a group of French islands and rocks totaling 5 square kilometres (1,200 acres). They are geographically part of the Comoro Islands between the French overseas region of Mayotte and the nation of Madagascar. Politically they are part of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, a French overseas territory. In 2012, France founded parc naturel marin des Glorieuses, a marine protected area, to preserve the endangered flora and fauna of the islands.