Maldives Atolls Maps List
The Republic of the Maldives is a chain of around 1200 small coral Islands stretching 750km across the Indian Ocean and circled into 26 natural atolls boast rich cultural traditions, a history of kings and queens, pageants, feasts and festivals, their own language and script. According to the season and method of classification, the exact number of islands are changed.
The Maldives Islands, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean covers an area of 90,000 sq. km. The length of the country extends to 820 km and width is 130 km. It spreads across the equator from north to south.
Geographically it is divided into 19 atolls but for administrative purpose officially it is grouped into 20 atolls. Most of the islands are uninhabited and people are living only in 199 islands. The height of the islands rarely reach above 2 meters. These islands are surrounded by shallow crystal clear lagoons enclosed by coral reefs.
Total estimated population is 246 thousands. The islands chain forms part of Laccadive Chagos submarine ridge, which extends into the Central part of Indian Ocean from the south west coast of India.
The islands extend more than 510 miles (820 km) from north to south and 80 miles (130 km) from east to west. The northernmost atoll is about 370 miles (600 km) south-southwest of the Indian mainland, and the central area, including the capital island of Male, is about 400 miles (645 km) southwest of Sri Lanka.
This is a list of islands of the Maldives. There are around 1,192 in total. They are listed by administrative division/atoll. The islands are divided into:
Inhabited islands - those officially recognised as towns, villages, fishing and farming communities with permanent human habitation. They all have an island office and island chiefs (councillor and katheeb).
Uninhabited islands - islands with no permanent human habitations. They are sometimes used for agricultural and industrial purposes, and more recently as tourist resorts and picnic islands. Some of these islands are valuable breeding grounds of various species of seabirds and sea turtles.
Disappeared islands - islands which during recorded history, have been completely eroded away, claimed by the sea due to the sea-level rise associated with global warming or assimilated by other islands. Some of these islands were previously inhabited and have been important in the history of the country. Some natural atolls are named after them (islands of Thiladhoo and Addu after which Thiladhunmati and Addu atoll are named respectively) while others are thought to have been the sites of the first settlements in the Maldives (Ihadhoo- meaning seen first and possibly the first settlement of the Maldives).