Geography and Environment
Unlike other atolls of Maldives, Addu Atoll possesses a natural anchorage within the atoll basin, as the atoll is land-locked with large islands surrounding the atoll. This results in a natural harbor that is very calm and safe for sea vessels at all times, and is not affected by seasonal changes. The atoll possesses four channels, which lead into the inside. In the north are the Kuda Kandu and Maa Kandu in the south,the Gan Kandu and the broad Villingili Kandu is to the southeast.
There are unique features in the islands of Addu Atoll.The islands are protected from the storms and high waves of the Indian Ocean by barrier reefs. Coconut palms, the national tree, are able to grow almost everywhere on the Islands. There are small lakes, wetlands, and marshy taro fields in the islands that are unique. Also, White terns known as the "dhondheeni" by Adduans gives the Atoll a uniqueness as it is found only in Addu Atoll in Maldives.
Addu Atoll also possesses particularly rich whale and dolphin fauna. A great diversity of species has been found there. Addu Atoll is the only area in the Maldives that was not affected by the 1998 global coral bleaching. The south of the Maldives was spared from the “too warm” major ocean currents (El Niño); the bright and healthy corals start at the top of giris and thilas (about 1 meter under the surface) and slope down with the reef to a depth of 30 meters (98 ft) or more.
Read more about this topic: Addu Atoll
Famous quotes containing the words geography and, geography and/or environment:
“The totality of our so-called knowledge or beliefs, from the most casual matters of geography and history to the profoundest laws of atomic physics or even of pure mathematics and logic, is a man-made fabric which impinges on experience only along the edges. Or, to change the figure, total science is like a field of force whose boundary conditions are experience.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)
“The totality of our so-called knowledge or beliefs, from the most casual matters of geography and history to the profoundest laws of atomic physics or even of pure mathematics and logic, is a man-made fabric which impinges on experience only along the edges. Or, to change the figure, total science is like a field of force whose boundary conditions are experience.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)
“In a land which is fully settled, most men must accept their local environment or try to change it by political means; only the exceptionally gifted or adventurous can leave to seek his fortune elsewhere. In America, on the other hand, to move on and make a fresh start somewhere else is still the normal reaction to dissatisfaction and failure.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)