Diego Garcia (7°19′S, 72°25′E) is an atoll located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, some 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south off India's southern coast. Diego Garcia is the largest atoll by land area of the Chagos Archipelago. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), a British overseas territory.
Since the enforced depopulation of Diego Garcia in the years leading up to 1973, it has been used as a military base by the United States. Diego Garcia hosts one of three ground antennas (others are on Kwajalein and Ascension Island) that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigational system. The island's shape (similar to that of a human footprint) has led the US Navy to refer to Diego Garcia as "The Footprint of Freedom."
The atoll is now covered in luxuriant tropical vegetation, with little sign left of the copra and coconut plantations that once covered it. The island is 37 miles (60 km) long, with a maximum elevation of 22 feet (7 m), and nearly encloses a lagoon some 12 miles long (19 km) and up to 5 miles (8 km) wide. Depths in the lagoon extend to 98 feet (30 m), while numerous coral heads extend toward the surface and form hazards to navigation. Shallow reefs surround the island on the ocean side as well as within the lagoon. The channel and anchorage area are dredged, while the old turning basin can also be used if its depth is sufficient for the ship.

Climate
Portuguese explorers discovered Diego Garcia in the early 16th century. The island's name is believed to have come from either the ship's captain or the navigator on that early voyage of discovery.
The islands remained uninhabited until the 18th century when the French established copra plantations with the help of unfree labour. Diego Garcia became a possession of the United Kingdom after the Napoleonic wars, and from 1814 to 1965, it was a dependency of Mauritius.
In 1965, the Chagos Islands, which include Diego Garcia, were detached from Mauritius to form part of the British Indian Ocean Territories (BIOT). In 1966, the crown bought the islands and plantations, which had been under private ownership and which had not been profitable with the introduction of new oils and lubricants. In 1971, the plantations were closed because of the agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States to make Diego Garcia available to the U.S. as a military base. No payment was made as part of this arrangement, although it has been claimed that the United Kingdom received a US$14 million discount on the acquisition of Polaris missiles from the United States.

History
In 2000, the High Court granted the islanders the right to return to the Archipelago and granted them UK citizenship. In 2002, the islanders and their descendants, now numbering 4,500, returned to court claiming compensation, after what they said were two years of delays by the British Foreign Office. However, on June 10, 2004, the British government made two Orders-in-Council banning the islanders from returning home,

Strategic importance

Ascension Island
Depopulation of Diego Garcia
RAF Gan
Stealing a Nation