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.

The Maldive Islands are formed from the growth of coral over long-submerged mountain ranges. These are true coral islands, with no other forms of rocks or minerals visible or within easy reach (drilling results indicate the presence of silica sand, granite and other minerals at depths of over 1000 m). As a result, all beaches in the Maldives are covered with white coral sand with no trace of yellow or black as seen anywhere else in the world.

There are no hills, mountains or rivers in the Maldives. The islands are small, and the totally coral based soil is poor in essential nutrients. Therefore, there is no room for thick jungle. Trees of food value include breadfruit, banana, mango, screwpine, cassava, sweet potato, and millet, but very little is grown in commercial quantities. The coconut palm is the most common food tree, and all parts of the plant are used extensively.

Very few terrestrial fauna are represented because of the difficult conditions. In the Maldives, the major diversity is found in the sea.

The climate, which is determined by two monsoons, is warm and humid. The rainy South-West monsoon begins during April and continues until October, while the generally fine North-East Monsoon prevails from December to March.

The Maldive Islands are located away from any significant seismic activity, and also are situated away from typhoon or cyclone areas. The massive tsunami of December 26 2004 whichj took place thousands of kilometres away near Indonesia affected the entire Maldives. However, the protective nature of the reefs surrounded by very deep ocean meant that the impact was very much less than in any other area of the Indian Ocean.

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