The Maldives, located in the Indian Ocean, is the country with the lowest elevation point. The Maldives is an archipelago of 1,192 small coral islands grouped into 26 atolls. Only 200 of these islands are inhabited. All these islands are low-lying, none rising higher than 2.4 metres (about 8 feet) above sea level.
The giant and majestic Pacific Ocean
Covering an area of approximately 16,62,43,550 square kilometers, the Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world. It occupies about one-third of the earth’s surface, and can fit all the continents of the world taken together. The basin of the ocean is also the oldest of all ocean basins; some of the earliest rocks present here are …
Atoll: The only English loanword from the Maldives
The island country Maldives, one of the most geographically dispersed countries, is a chain of twenty-six atolls spread around 90,000 sq. km. The word ‘atoll’ – an island, or a group of islands, formed of coral – is a word that has its roots in the Maldivian language Dhivehi. The word ‘atoll’ derives from the Dhivehi word atholhu. Much to the delight of …