Raa Atoll

Northern Maalhosmadulu Atoll or Raa Atoll is an administrative division from the Maldives. The capital is Ungoofaaru. It includes Northern Maalhosmadulu Atoll proper and the island of Alifushi.

1. Alifushi and Etthingili (Powell Islands in the Admiralty Chart) stand on a detached reef of their own with very deep waters (no sounding) between this faru and the northern end of the main atoll.

2. Northern Maalhosmadulu Atoll is 35 miles (56 km) in length from N to S, and 15 miles (24 km) across at its broadest part. Its western fringe is composed of a series of round or oval reefs (farus) irregularly placed (a feature peculiar to all the larger Northern Atolls). The centre is heavily dotted with coral patches (giri), some submerged and some awash. The concentration of giri is especially dense towards its SW quarter, close to Kandholhudhu Island (where there is the place most crowded with small reefs and shoals in the whole Maldives), but its narrower northern end is quite clear of reefs. The general depths of the lagoon are from 23 to 27 fathoms (140 to 160 ft; 42 to 49 m).

The capital of Northern Maalhosmadulu Atoll is Ungoofaaru. Recently, the island has been reclaimed up to the edge of the reef in order to provide land for social and economic activities for the growing population.

NOTE: Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Shaviyani, Noonu, Raa, Baa, Kaafu, etc. are code letters assigned to the present administrative divisions of the Maldives. They are not the proper names of the natural atolls that make up these divisions. Some atolls are divided into two administrative divisions while other divisions are made up of two or more natural atolls. The order followed by the code letters is from North to South, beginning with the first letters of the Thaana alphabet used in Dhivehi. These code letters are not accurate from the geographical and cultural point of view. However, they have become popular among tourists and foreigners in the Maldives who find them easier to pronounce than the true atoll names in Dhivehi, (save a few exceptions, like Ari Atoll).

Alifushi, located at the northern end of the atoll, is an island which has been traditionally famous for its skilled boatbuilding carpenters. It now houses shipyards.