African Banks, Sandstone cay in Seychelles.

African Banks is a pseudo-atoll of the Amirante Islands whose underwater banks span about 4 km north-south and 3 km east-west, roughly 10 km² in all. A shallow coral rim on the east makes it look like an incomplete atoll, while the western ring lies 19 to 36 m deep. North Island, 3.3 ha and almost treeless, keeps a derelict automatic lighthouse on its north point; South Island, 0.6 ha, lies 3.1 km south and is reduced to a sandstone ridge exposed at low tide.

Admiral Willaumez, commanding the frigate La Régénérée, discovered the islands in 1797 and named them Îlots Africains; the origin of the name African Banks remains unexplained. HMS Spitfire was wrecked on South Island in August 1801. North Island later hosted a guano mining camp for a couple of months.

The islands form an Important Bird Area of 750 hectares, providing essential nesting grounds for numerous seabird populations in the Seychelles archipelago.

North Island is reached only by charter yacht and is occasionally visited by tourists; South Island, 3.1 km south, is now just a sandstone ridge exposed at low tide. The islands are almost treeless and exposed, so bring water and sun protection. Landing depends on the shallow coral ring and tides.

South Island, now only a sandstone ridge exposed at low tide, holds the small ruin of a poachers' hut; HMS Spitfire was wrecked there in August 1801. North Island, 3.1 km away, keeps a derelict automatic lighthouse on its north point.