Geography of the

Maldives

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 See also Atolls of the Maldives for an in-
depth description of the atolls.

Maldives is a country of South Asia,

situated in the Indian Ocean, south-
southwest of India. It consists of
approximately 1,190 coral islands grouped
in a double chain of 26 atolls, spread over
roughly 90,000 square kilometers, making
this one of the most disparate countries in
the world. Composed of live coral reefs
and sand bars, the atolls are situated atop
a submarine ridge, 960 km (600 mi) long
that rises abruptly from the depths of the
Indian Ocean and runs from north to south.
Only near the southern end of this natural
coral barricade do two open passages
permit safe ship navigation from one side
of the Indian Ocean to the other through
the territorial waters of Maldives. For
administrative purposes the Maldives
government organized these atolls into
nineteen administrative divisions.[1]

The largest island of Maldives is Gan, which

belongs to Laamu Atoll or Hahdhummathi
Maldives.[2] In Addu Atoll the westernmost
islands are connected by roads over the
reef and the total length of the road is
14 km (8.7 mi).

Geographic coordinates: 3°15′N 73°00′E

Physical geography
Cross section of a coral reef in the Maldives

Most atolls of the Maldives consist of a

large, ring-shaped coral reef supporting
numerous small islands. Islands average
only one to two square kilometers in area,
and lie between 1–1.5 m (3 ft 3 in–4 ft 11 in)
above mean sea level. Although some of
the larger atolls are approximately 50 km
(31 mi) long from north to south, and 30 km
(19 mi) wide from east to west, no
individual island is longer than eight
kilometers.[3]

The Maldives has no hills, but some islands

have dunes which can reach 2.4 meters
(7.9 feet) above sea level, like the NW
coast of Hithadhoo (Seenu Atoll) in Addu
Atoll. The islands are too small to have
rivers, but small lakes and marshes can be
found in some of them.

On average, each atoll has approximately

5 to 10 inhabited islands; the uninhabited
islands of each atoll number approximately
20 to 60. Some atolls, however, consist of
one large, isolated island surrounded by a
steep coral beach. The most notable
example of this type of atoll is the large
island of Fuvahmulah situated in the
Equatorial Channel.
The tropical vegetation of Maldives differs
in the inhabited and in the uninhabited
islands. Inhabited islands have small
groves of banana, papaya, drumstick and
citrus trees by the homesteads, while
breadfruit trees and coconut palms are
grown in available patches of land. On the
other hand, uninhabited islands have
mostly different kinds of bushes (magū,
boshi) and mangroves (kuredi, kandū)
along the waterline as well as some
coconut trees.[4]

Some islands are marshy, while others are

higher owing to sand and gravel having
been piled up by wave action. Often the
soil is highly alkaline, and a deficiency in
nitrogen, potash, and iron severely limits
agricultural potential. Ten percent of the
land, or about 26 km², is cultivated with
taro, bananas, coconuts, and other fruit.
Only the lush island of Fuvammulah
produces fruits such as oranges and
pineapples - partly because the terrain of
Fuvammulah sits higher than most other
islands, leaving the groundwater less
subject to seawater penetration. However,
as population grows, even in this island
the cultivated areas are shrinking rapidly.

Freshwater floats in a layer known as

"Ghyben/Herzberg lens" above the
seawater that permeates the limestone
and coral sands of the islands. These
lenses are shrinking rapidly on Male and
on many islands where there are resorts
catering to foreign tourists. Mango trees
already have been reported dying on Male
because of salt penetration. Most
residents of the atolls depend on
groundwater or rainwater for drinking
purposes.

Climate
One of the many uninhabited islands of the Maldives.

The temperature of Maldives ranges

between 24 and 33 °C (75.2 and 91.4 °F)
throughout the year. Although the humidity
is relatively high, the constant sea breezes
help to keep the air moving. Two seasons
dominate Maldives' weather: the dry
season associated with the winter
northeast monsoon and the rainy season
brought by the summer southwest
monsoon. The annual rainfall averages
2,540 millimeters (100 in) in the north and
3,810 millimeters (150 in) in the south.
The weather in Maldives is affected by the
large landmass of the South Asia to the
north. The presence of this landmass
causes differential heating of land and
water. Scientists also cite other factors in
the formation of monsoons, including the
barrier of the Himalayas on the northern
fringe of the South Asia and the sun's
northward tilt, which shifts the jet stream
north. These factors set off a rush of
moisture-rich air from the Indian Ocean
over the South Asia, resulting in the
southwest monsoon. The hot air that rises
over the South Asia during April and May
creates low-pressure areas into which the
cooler, moisture-bearing winds from the
Indian Ocean flow. In Maldives, the wet
southwest monsoon lasts from the end of
April to the end of October and brings the
worst weather with strong winds and
storms. In May 1991 violent monsoon winds
created tidal waves that damaged
thousands of houses and piers, flooded
arable land with seawater, and uprooted
thousands of fruit trees. The damage
caused was estimated at US$30 million.

The shift from the moist southwest

monsoon to the dry northeast monsoon
over the South Asia occurs during October
and November. During this period, the
northeast winds contribute to the
formation of the northeast monsoon,
which reaches Maldives in the beginning of
December and lasts until the end of March.
However, the weather patterns of
Maldives do not always conform to the
monsoon patterns of the South Asia. Rain
showers over the whole country have
been known to persist for up to one week
during the midst of the dry season.

Area and boundaries

North Miladhun madulu atoll, Maldives

Area:
total: 298 km²
land: 298 km²
water: 0 km²

Coastline: 644 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed
archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
contiguous zone: 24 nmi (44.4 km; 27.6 mi)
exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi
(370.4 km; 230.2 mi)

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Vilingili
Island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m (Maldives is
the flattest country in the world, i.e. they
have the lowest high-point of any country
in the world).

Resources and land use

Natural resources:[5] fish

Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 10%
other: 80% (2011)

Irrigated land: 0 km2 (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 0.03 km3

(2011)

Environmental concerns
Natural hazards: tsunamis; low level of
islands makes them very sensitive to sea
level rise.
Some scientists fear it could be
underwater by 2050 or 2100. The UN's
environmental panel has warned that, at
current rates, sea level would be high
enough to make the country uninhabitable
by 2100.[6][7] President Mohamed Nasheed
aims to turn the Maldives into an entirely
carbon neutral nation by 2020.[8]

Environment - current issues: depletion of

freshwater aquifers threatens water
supplies, global warming and sea level rise,
coral reef bleaching[9]

Environment - international agreements:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution [10]

Statistics
Position: degree of latitude: 07° 06'30" N
to 00° 41'48" S and degree of longitude:
72° 32'30" E to 73° 45'54" E westside of
India and Sri Lanka.
Range: in length approx. 750 km (from
north to south) / in width approx. 120 km
(from west to east)
Land territory: 1,196 mostly deserted
islands with a total area of approx.
298 km².
 The islands are in average 1.8 m above
sea level.
Distances: shortest distance to India:
approx. 340 km and to Sri Lanka
approx. 700 km.

Nearest nation
India (Laccadives)

References
1. Muhammadu Ibrahim Lutfee,
Divehiraajjege Jōgrafīge Vanavaru.
G.Sōsanī. Malé 1999
2. Hasan A. Maniku, The Islands of
Maldives. Novelty. Male 1983
3. Hasan A. Maniku, Changes in the
Topography of the Maldives. Novelty.
Male 1990
4. Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive
Islanders, A Study of the Popular
Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom.
1999, ISBN 84-7254-801-5
5. CIA World Factbook accessed 1 May
2009
6. Megan Angelo (1 May 2009). "Honey, I
Sunk the Maldives: Environmental
changes could wipe out some of the
world's most well-known travel
destinations" .
 7. Kristina Stefanova (19 April 2009).
"Climate refugees in Pacific flee rising
sea" .
8. "Maldives aims for action behind
words on climate change" . Retrieved
18 September 2009.
9. CIA World Factbook accessed 1 May
2009
10. CIA World Factbook accessed 1 May
2009
 This article incorporates public domain
material from the Library of Congress
Country Studies website
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ .

Further reading
 Photo Guide to Fishes of the Maldives.
Rudie H. Kuiter. Atoll Editions. Apollo Bay,
Australia 1998.

External links
Map of the Baa atoll
Satellite images of all the Atolls at the
Wayback Machine (archived 23
December 2010)
Maldives Island Maps
Location on Map
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