Providence Atoll, Atoll in the Outer Islands, Seychelles

Providence Atoll is an atoll in the Outer Islands of Seychelles, 710 km southwest of Victoria. It runs 44 km north to south and about 12 km wide, covering 345 km², but its land is only 2.82 km². Providence Island, in the north, is 3.6 km long and kite-shaped; Bancs Providence, 30 km south, comprises four large and about six very small islands.

French sailors gave the atoll its name after their vessel found refuge there in 1763. That event marked an important moment in European exploration of this remote region.

The atoll's name comes from the French frigate L'Heureuse, wrecked on its reef in 1763; the crew named it Providence for their rescue. Bancs Providence is also called Cerf Island after Le Cerf, one of Captain Nicolas Morphey's ships, which sighted the islands on 30 July 1756. Fishermen's temporary huts were recorded there as early as 1882.

The atoll has an airstrip that makes visits possible and improves accessibility. The terrain is open and relatively flat, which makes navigation and movement straightforward.

Bancs Providence, the southern part of the atoll, has changed shape repeatedly: recorded as three small islets in 1882, seven small islands in 1905 and a single large cay with four smaller ones in 1967. Black-naped and greater crested terns were found breeding there only in 2016.