Copyright © 1996 - 2008. Maldive.Com .
All Rights Reserved.
Where are the Maldive Islands? The group of 1,200 islands (give or take a few) lies in the Indian Ocean, between just south of the equator and 8 degrees north, about 675 km south-west of Sri Lanka. About 200 islands are inhabited. The total area including land and sea is about 90,000 square km. The islands resemble a garland when seen from space.
The Maldives archipelago is 823 km long and 130 km at its greatest width. The Maldive Islands are formed into 26 natural atolls but they are divided into 19 administrative regions, also known as "atolls." Every atoll of the Maldives is enclosed by a fringing coral reef that has a few deep, natural channels serving as entry points. Similarly, a protective coral reef surrounds each island. Most islands have a shallow lagoon, known in Maldivian as a "villu."
A key feature of the Maldive Islands is that the islands are small and low-lying with many being no more than two metres above sea level. Common features are tall coconut palms, white sandy beaches and crystal clear lagoons. The protective coral reef surrounding every Maldive island is also home to hundreds of species of tropical fish, countless shapes and sizes of coral sea shell and all forms of marine life.