It comprises of 22 natural atolls and some 1190 islands. The Maldive Islands are located in the Indian Ocean between 7° 06'N to 00° 45' S latitudes and 72° 13'E to 73° 45' Longitudes about 480 km South west of Cape Comorin, India and 650 km South west of Sri Lanka. The word atoll ( atholhu) has both administrative and geographical meanings in the Maldives. So unique and well known are the atolls of Maldives which apparently has evolved in a decidedly non-Darwinian fashion according to findings of modern research. The peculiarity of Maldivian atolls and their unique formation was so intriguing that early reef scientists and geographers decided to borrow the Maldivian term " atholhu" which is now used as " atoll" in the English language. For reef scientists, the Maldives is known as one of the wonders of the world in terms of biodiversity, marine life and reef formations. The rest are used for various activities the most important of which is tourism.įor politicians and environmentalists around the world, the Maldives is perhaps better known as islands drowning with the rising sea levels as a result of global warming.
In fact only about 200 islands are inhabited. There are 22 geographical atolls comprising of about 1200 islands which are divided into 20 administrative units. The Maldives consists of atolls, coral reefs and low-lying coral islands. The people of Maldives are called Maldivians and their language is known as "Dhivehi".
Maldives is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean not very far from India.
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