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65-597: Addu Atoll , also known as Seenu Atoll , is the southernmost atoll of the Maldives . Addu Atoll, together with Fuvahmulah , located 40 km north of Addu Atoll, extend the Maldives into the Southern Hemisphere. Addu Atoll is located 540 km south of Malé , the country's capital. Administratively, Addu Atoll is the location of Addu City , one of the four cities of the Maldives. Addu City consists of

130-452: A reef knoll refers to the elevated remains of an ancient atoll within a limestone region, appearing as a hill. The second largest atoll by dry land area is Aldabra , with 155 km (60 sq mi). Huvadhu Atoll , situated in the southern region of the Maldives, holds the distinction of being the largest atoll based on the sheer number of islands it comprises, with a total of 255 individual islands. In 1842, Charles Darwin explained

195-413: A "circular group of coral islets", synonymously with "lagoon-island". More modern definitions of atoll describe them as "annular reefs enclosing a lagoon in which there are no promontories other than reefs and islets composed of reef detritus " or "in an exclusively morphological sense, [as] a ring-shaped ribbon reef enclosing a lagoon". There are approximately 440 atolls in the world. Most of

260-420: A causeway since the development of Hulhumalé, allowing the airport to be accessed by road from the latter. As Malé, Hulhulé and Hulhumalé are now linked by roads, inter-island travel between the three islands can be done by road. For the other islands, inter-island transport is by ferry. Malé island has a port that allows cargo vessels to dock. Malé City Council is the local government body responsible for

325-553: A certain large sandbank ( finolhu ) at the southern end of their atoll to clean tuna fish after a good catch. Owing to the large amount of tuna fish offal and blood, the waters around that sandbank looked like a big pool of blood ("maa ley gandeh": "maa" from the Sanskrit मह "maha", meaning big , and "lē" blood ). Traditionally the first inhabitants of the Maldives, which include the Giravaru people, did not have kings. They lived in

390-517: A simple society and were ruled by local headmen. However, one day, a prince from the subcontinent called Koimala arrived in the Malé Atoll sailing from the North on a big ship. The people of Giraavaru spotted his vessel from afar and welcomed him. They allowed Prince Koimala to settle on that large sandbank in the midst of the waters tainted with fish blood. Trees were planted on the sandbank and it

455-580: A sizable presence of unskilled laborers, as well as other professionals and members of the business community. The whole island group, the Maldives, is named after its capital. The word "Maldives" means "the islands (dives) of Malé". The first settlers in the Maldivian islands were Dravidian people who arrived from the neighboring shores of the modern Indian subcontinent and coastal Ceylon . Comparative studies of Maldivian linguistic, oral, and other cultural traditions, in addition to folklore , point to

520-584: A strong Dravidian influence on Maldivian society, centered in Malé, from ancient times. The Giraavaru people of Giraavaru claim descent from the first Tamil settlers of the Maldives. It is said that early Tamil settlers called the islands Maalaitivu , which means Garland Islands or Chain Islands. Early records also indicate that the island was called " Athamana Huraa " prior to being named Malé. According to regional lore, Giraavaru fishermen used to go regularly to

585-691: A total of 41 stops, of which R10 and R11 stop at 20 each, while R12 stops at 8. All 3 routes go through Majeedhee Magu , in the centre of the city. R11 to R9 are various routes connecting Malé to Hulhumalé and Velana International Airport . These busses are much larger, and in late 2020, began operating double-decker busses to Hulhumalé. The busses move between the islands using the Sinamalé Bridge . R13 Is an internal minibus route located internally within Villimalé , and goes through 13 stops. It uses much smaller electrical-powered busses along with

650-442: A very different origin of formation. In most cases, the land area of an atoll is very small in comparison to the total area. Atoll islands are low lying, with their elevations less than 5 metres (16 ft). Measured by total area, Lifou (1,146 km , 442 sq mi) is the largest raised coral atoll of the world, followed by Rennell Island (660 km , 250 sq mi). More sources, however, list Kiritimati as

715-525: A volcanic island in the tropical sea will grow upward as the island subsides (sinks), becoming an "almost atoll", or barrier reef island, as typified by an island such as Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, and Bora Bora and others in the Society Islands. The fringing reef becomes a barrier reef for the reason that the outer part of the reef maintains itself near sea level through biotic growth, while

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780-519: Is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world . The city is geographically located in the southern edge of North Malé Atoll ( Kaafu Atoll ). Administratively, the city consists of a central island, an airport island, and four other islands presided over by the Malé City Council. Traditionally it was the King's Island, from where the ancient royal dynasties ruled and where

845-759: Is formed in 1980 to contribute towards the development of infrastructure and transport service in the Maldives. The port is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region with its rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe . Each of the islands of Malé is served by a dense network of paved roads, which are named magu (road or street), hingun and goalhi (small road or alley). Road traffic

910-524: Is heavy, especially on Malé Island. Malé and Hulhulé Island are linked by the Sinamalé Bridge , which was opened to traffic in October 2018, while Hulhulé and Hulhumalé are linked via a causeway, thus allowing the road networks of the three islands to be connected. Public transport in Malé primarily consists of 3 minibus lines that run through the city, and connecting the Greater Malé region to

975-405: Is left of the original island, and a lagoon has taken the place of the former volcano. The lagoon is not the former volcanic crater. For the atoll to persist, the coral reef must be maintained at the sea surface, with coral growth matching any relative change in sea level (sinking of the island or rising oceans). An alternative model for the origin of atolls is called the antecedent karst model. In

1040-451: Is located. Unlike other atolls of the Maldives, Addu Atoll has a lagoon that is a natural anchorage, accessible through four natural channels. This results in a natural harbour that is very calm and safe for sea vessels at all times and is not affected by seasonal changes. The four channels are arranged around the atoll as follows: the Kuda channel and the nearby Maa channel are on the north,

1105-415: Is now the site of Gan International Airport . The cosmopolitan white tern ("dhondheeni") is found in the Maldives only on Addu Atoll and is seen as a symbol of the islands. 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

1170-406: Is said that the first tree that grew on it was the papaya tree. (However, this could refer to any tree that bears edible fruit as the archaic Dhivehi word, and Mahal word in modern times, for fruit ( falhoa ) was the same as that for the papaya. ) As time went by, the local islanders accepted the rule of this Northern Prince. A palace was built and the island was formally named Maa-le (Malé), while

1235-487: The Gulhifalhu reef, implementation began in 2008. The island of Malé is the eighth most densely populated island in the world , and it is the 160th most populous island in the world. Since there is no surrounding countryside, all infrastructure has to be located in the city itself. Water is provided from desalinated ground water; the water works pumps brackish water from 50–60 m (160–200 ft) deep wells in

1300-546: The Malé Friday Mosque . In the last few decades, the island has been considerably expanded in size through land reclamation . Over the years, Malé has been the center of political protests and milestone events. Although Malé is geographically located in Kaafu Atoll , administratively it is not considered part of it. The central part of the city is formed by the island of Malé. Five more islands form part of

1365-606: The Royal Society of London carried out drilling on Funafuti atoll in Tuvalu for the purpose of investigating the formation of coral reefs . They wanted to determine whether traces of shallow water organisms could be found at depth in the coral of Pacific atolls. This investigation followed the work on the structure and distribution of coral reefs conducted by Charles Darwin in the Pacific. The first expedition in 1896

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1430-664: The Thousand Islands , Taka Bonerate Islands , and atolls in the Raja Ampat Islands . The Atlantic Ocean has no large groups of atolls, other than eight atolls east of Nicaragua that belong to the Colombian department of San Andres and Providencia in the Caribbean. Reef-building corals will thrive only in warm tropical and subtropical waters of oceans and seas, and therefore atolls are found only in

1495-434: The 1990s. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes. Malé, the capital, has many tourist attractions and nearby resorts. Maldivian , the airline of the Maldives, has its head office in Malé, as does the airline Villa Air . The central harbour and port of the Maldives is located in Malé, the centre for all commercial activities. The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC)

1560-519: The Equator is Aranuka of Kiribati. Its southern tip is just 13 km (8 mi) north of the Equator. Bermuda is sometimes claimed as the "northernmost atoll" at a latitude of 32°18′ N. At this latitude, coral reefs would not develop without the warming waters of the Gulf Stream . However, Bermuda is termed a pseudo-atoll because its general form, while resembling that of an atoll, has

1625-527: The Gan channel is on the south, and the broad Villingili channel is on the southeast. 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 of Addu Atoll. There are small lakes, wetlands, and marshy taro fields that are unique to Addu Atoll. The name Addu is believed to originate from

1690-414: The Maldives was spared from the "too warm" major ocean currents of ( El Niño ). The bright and healthy corals start at the top of giris and thilas (about 1 meter [3 ft] under the surface) and slope down with the reef to a depth of 30 meters (98 ft) or more. The spoken dialect is Addu dialect, and though it has similarities to the "Mulaku dialect" of Fuvahmulah , it is somewhat different from

1755-499: The Malé dialect rather than Addu dialect was used in official correspondence. Nevertheless, despite the difference in dialects, the written version is common throughout the Maldives. Long ago Addu City was ruled by families appointed by the sultans in Malé , and may have had a matrilineal system of inheritance; it is very much a man's world today. There was a recent period in Addu history when

1820-488: The Queen, Rehendhi Khadeeja , had a residence in Malé, which from its description may be assimilated to the same palace of the later sultan rulers, in the centre of the island. Within the palace compounds, several pits contained stores of cowrie shells, ready to be traded. Ibn Battuta also mentioned several mosques, built in wood. Malé was fortified in the 17th century by the sultan Muhammad Imaduddin , who built walls on

1885-463: The Sosun Route (R12). Velana International Airport is located on nearby Hulhulé and is the city's airport as well as the principal airport in Maldives. With the opening of the Sinamalé Bridge , the airport is now accessible from Malé by road. Prior to the opening of the bridge, transport between the airport and Malé was by a frequent ferry service. Hulhulé and Hulhumalé have been connected via

1950-551: The abolition of the monarchy in 1968. Only the National Museum building, residence of the last sultan, as well as the Malé Friday Mosque , remain. Malé's residents soon grew to 11,453 by 1967 and 29,522 by 1977. In order to cater for the growing population, by 1986 the shallow lagoon around Malé was reclaimed. The most revered place in Malé is the Medhu Ziyaaraiy , across the street from the Malé Friday Mosque :

2015-520: The antecedent karst model as they found that the morphology of modern atolls are independent of any influence of an underlying submerged and buried island and are not rooted to an initial fringing reef/barrier reef attached to a slowly subsiding volcanic edifice. In fact, the Neogene reefs underlying the studied modern atolls overlie and completely bury the subsided island are all non-atoll, flat-topped reefs. In fact, they found that atolls did not form doing

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2080-477: The antecedent karst model, the first step in the formation of an atoll is the development of a flat top, mound-like coral reef during the subsidence of an oceanic island of either volcanic or nonvolcanic origin below sea level. Then, when relative sea level drops below the level of the flat surface of coral reef, it is exposed to the atmosphere as a flat topped island which is dissolved by rainfall to form limestone karst . Because of hydrologic properties of this karst,

2145-461: The city and desalinates that using reverse osmosis . Electric power is generated in the city using diesel generators. Sewage is pumped unprocessed into the sea. Solid waste is transported to nearby islands, where it is used to fill in lagoons. The airport was built in this way, and currently the Thilafushi lagoon is being filled in. Many government buildings and agencies are located on

2210-477: The city which includes Hulhulé , Hulhumalé , Villimalé , Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi . A commercial harbour is located on the central island and serves as the heart of all commercial activities in the country. Velana International Airport is located on the Island of Hulhulé. The central island is heavily urbanised, with the built-up area taking up essentially its entire landmass. Slightly less than one third of

2275-418: The course of the year, with an average high of 30 °C or 86 °F and an average low of 26.5 °C or 79.7 °F, which is equivalent to many equatorial cities' average year-round daily mean. The city averages slightly more than 1,900 millimetres or 75 inches of precipitation annually. The temperature is constantly high year-round due in part to the Maldives having the lowest median elevation anywhere in

2340-417: The creation of coral atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean based upon observations made during a five-year voyage aboard HMS Beagle from 1831 to 1836. Darwin's explanation suggests that several tropical island types: from high volcanic island, through barrier reef island, to atoll, represented a sequence of gradual subsidence of what started as an oceanic volcano. He reasoned that a fringing coral reef surrounding

2405-488: The development of Hulhumalé and the extension to Phase 2. The Indian expatriate community in the Maldives stands as the second-largest, comprising around 27,000 individuals. Among them, a substantial portion consists of construction workers, doctors, nurses, health professionals, and teachers, who play vital roles in the Maldivian infrastructure, healthcare and education sectors. Additionally, Indian and Bangladeshi nationals contribute significantly as skilled workers, alongside

2470-436: The direct result of the interaction between subsidence and preferential karst dissolution that occurred in the interior of flat topped coral reefs during exposure during glacial lowstands of sea level. The elevated rims along an island created by this preferential karst dissolution become the sites of coral growth and islands of atolls when flooded during interglacial highstands. The research of A. W. Droxler and others supports

2535-561: The dolomitization of calcite and aragonite within them. They are the evaporative, seepage-reflux, mixing-zone, burial, and seawater models. Although the origin of replacement dolomites remains problematic and controversial, it is generally accepted that seawater was the source of magnesium for dolomitization and the fluid in which calcite was dolomitized to form the dolomites found within atolls. Various processes have been invoked to drive large amounts of seawater through an atoll in order for dolomitization to occur. In 1896, 1897 and 1898,

2600-436: The formation of an atoll is explained by the sinking of a volcanic island around which a coral fringing reef has formed. Over geologic time, the volcanic island becomes extinct and eroded as it subsides completely beneath the surface of the ocean. As the volcanic island subsides, the coral fringing reef becomes a barrier reef that is detached from the island. Eventually, reef and the small coral islets on top of it are all that

2665-712: The governance of the city of Malé. The council was created in 2011, with the enactment of the Decentralization Bill. The city is divided into 18 political wards each with one councillor. In the Local Council Elections in 2021, the mayor was elected for the first time ever, with Mohamed Muizzu being elected to the position. The Progressive Party of the Maldives picked up 11 seats while the Maldivian Democratic Party picked up 6 seats. But due to Muizzu being elected as

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2730-418: The inhabited areas of Addu Atoll, namely the natural islands of Hulhudhoo , Meedhoo , Maradhoo , Feydhoo , and Hithadhoo . (The districts of Addu City are not according to the natural islands that it comprises). In addition to the areas that are included as a part of Addu City , Addu Atoll has a number of other inhabited and uninhabited islands, including the island of Gan , where Gan International Airport

2795-472: The inner part of the reef falls behind, becoming a lagoon because conditions are less favorable for the coral and calcareous algae responsible for most reef growth. In time, subsidence carries the old volcano below the ocean surface and the barrier reef remains. At this point, the island has become an atoll. As formulated by J. E. Hoffmeister, F. S. McNeil, E. G. Prudy, and others, the antecedent karst model argues that atolls are Pleistocene features that are

2860-480: The lagoon within them. The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu ( އަތޮޅު , pronounced [ˈat̪oɭu] ). Dhivehi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Maldives . The word's first recorded English use was in 1625 as atollon . Charles Darwin coined the term in his monograph, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs . He recognized the word's indigenous origin and defined it as

2925-412: The largest atoll in the world in terms of land area. It is also a raised coral atoll (321 km , 124 sq mi land area; according to other sources even 575 km , 222 sq mi), 160 km (62 sq mi) main lagoon, 168 km (65 sq mi) other lagoons (according to other sources 319 km , 123 sq mi total lagoon size). The geological formation known as

2990-580: The local language, where “ah” means eight and “dhoo” means island. This is because there were traditionally eight inhabited islands in the Addu Atoll. Hithadhoo, Maradhoo, Maradhoo-Feydhoo, Feydhoo, Gan, Hulhudhoo, Hulhu-Meedhoo and Meedhoo. When the British made maps of the region, they labeled it “Addou Atoll.” This Anglicized version of the local name. During the Second World War , Addu Atoll

3055-526: The main island. All the routes are operated by Raajje Transport Link (RTL) . These busses go through the wider roads through the city. Children under 18, people with special needs and people above 65 years of age ride for free. The Orchid Route (R10), the Ameenee Route (R11) and the Sosun Route (R12). The routes are named after the main roads that the minibus drives through in Malé, being Orchid Magu , Ameenee Magu and Sosun Magu . The Malé system has

3120-471: The nation's population lives in the capital city, and the population has increased from 20,000 people in 1987 to 100,000 people in 2006. Many Maldivians and foreign workers living in other parts of the country find themselves in occasional short term residence on the island since it is the centre of administration and bureaucracy. Most of the population of Malé live in small houses or apartment complexes, often shared with external family or roommates. This led to

3185-449: The nearest island was named Hulhu-le. The names of the main four wards or divisions of Malé Island are said to have been given by the original Giraavaru fishermen: Maafannu from maa (big) and fannu (a place where a village path meets the sea), Henveiru from en-beyru (out where fishermen got their bait), Galolhu from galu-olhu (stone groove) and, Macchangolhi from mathi-angolhi (windward path-fork). In early foreign sources, Malé

3250-486: The north, east and west side of the island. An inner harbour was used by fishing vessels and small dhonis , while larger vessels had to anchor in the outer harbour, between the islands of Vilingili and Hulhule. The island covered less than one square mile in size, and was surrounded by a shallow lagoon. Malé had 2,148 inhabitants in 1888, but population growth soon led to the search for new spaces for housing. The old forts and decrepit walls were dismantled in 1925–1927 under

3315-542: The official form of the Dhivehi language . Traditionally, Addu dialect was widely spoken amongst the educated masses of three different atolls in the south, who adopted it as their lingua franca . It has also been credited with being the most famous and widespread single dialect in the Republic of Maldives . However, when Addu declared independence and recognized itself as the United Suvadive Republic ,

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3380-422: The palace was located. The city was then called Mahal . Formerly it was a walled city surrounded by fortifications and gates ( doroshi ). The Royal Palace ( Gan'duvaru ) was destroyed along with the picturesque forts ( koshi ) and bastions ( buruzu ) when the city was remodelled under President Ibrahim Nasir 's rule in the aftermath of the abolition of the monarchy in 1968. However, some buildings remained, namely,

3445-401: The rate of dissolution of the exposed coral is lowest along its rim and the rate of dissolution increases inward to its maximum at the center of the island. As a result, a saucer shaped island with a raised rim forms. When relative sea level submerges the island again, the rim provides a rocky core on which coral grow again to form the islands of an atoll and the flooded bottom of the saucer forms

3510-401: The reign of Muhammad Shamsuddeen III , to be rebuilt on a smaller scale. Roads were also widened and straightened. Former large cemeteries had also been cleared out, to achieve more housing space. The Royal Palace ( Gan'duvaru ) was destroyed along with the picturesque forts ( koshi ) and bastions ( buruzu ) when the city was remodelled under President Ibrahim Nasir 's rule in the aftermath of

3575-475: The status quo changed for a while, when a more matriarchal society developed and women became the breadwinners. Addu Atoll has some of the earliest known settlements recorded in the country—specifically, on the island of Meedhoo in the far north of the atoll. Atoll Two different, well-cited models, the subsidence model and the antecedent karst model, have been used to explain the development of atolls. According to Charles Darwin 's subsidence model,

3640-478: The subsidence of an island until MIS-11, Mid-Brunhes, long after the many the former islands had been completely submerged and buried by flat topped reefs during the Neogene. Atolls are the product of the growth of tropical marine organisms, and so these islands are found only in warm tropical waters. Volcanic islands located beyond the warm water temperature requirements of hermatypic (reef-building) organisms become seamounts as they subside, and are eroded away at

3705-696: The surface. An island that is located where the ocean water temperatures are just sufficiently warm for upward reef growth to keep pace with the rate of subsidence is said to be at the Darwin Point . Islands in colder, more polar regions evolve toward seamounts or guyots ; warmer, more equatorial islands evolve toward atolls, for example Kure Atoll . However, ancient atolls during the Mesozoic appear to exhibit different growth and evolution patterns. Coral atolls are important as sites where dolomitization of calcite occurs. Several models have been proposed for

3770-531: The tomb of Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari, considered to have converted the Maldives to Islam in 1153. Malé has a tropical monsoon climate ( Am ) under the Köppen climate classification . The city features a mix of both wet and dry seasons , with the wet season lasting from April through January and the drier season covering the months of February and March. Unlike a number of cities with this climate, Malé experiences relatively consistent temperatures throughout

3835-756: The tropics and subtropics. The northernmost atoll in the world is Kure Atoll at 28°25′ N, along with other atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands . The southernmost atolls in the world are Elizabeth Reef at 29°57′ S, and nearby Middleton Reef at 29°27′ S, in the Tasman Sea , both of which are part of the Coral Sea Islands Territory. The next southerly atoll is Ducie Island in the Pitcairn Islands Group, at 24°41′ S. The atoll closest to

3900-411: The waterfront. Velana International Airport is on adjacent Hulhulé Island which includes a seaplane base for internal transportation. Several land reclamation projects have expanded the harbour. Tourism is the largest industry in the Maldives, accounting for 28% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. The GDP per capita expanded by 265% in the 1980s and a further 115% in

3965-942: The world's atolls are in the Pacific Ocean (with concentrations in the Caroline Islands , the Coral Sea Islands , the Marshall Islands , the Tuamotu Islands , Kiribati , Tokelau , and Tuvalu ) and the Indian Ocean (the Chagos Archipelago , Lakshadweep , the atolls of the Maldives , and the Outer Islands of Seychelles ). In addition, Indonesia also has several atolls spread across the archipelago, such as in

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4030-418: The world. The city is divided into six divisions, four of which are on Malé Island: Henveiru, Galolhu, Maafannu and MacchanGoalhi. The nearby island of Villimalé , formerly a tourist resort and prior to that a prison, is the fifth division. The sixth division is Hulhumalé , an artificial island settled since 2004. In addition, the airport Island Hulhulé is part of the city. Plans have been made to develop

4095-570: Was called Ambria or Mahl. For the Maldivians, it was Fura Malé, i.e. "Malé the Pre-Eminent". When Ibn Battuta traveled to Malé in 1343 (in Arabic : المَحَل , romanized :  al-Maḥal thus the entire Maldivian islands were ذِيبَةُ المَحَل Dhībat-ul-Maḥal ), he provided a rather extensive description of the city as well as the Islands of the Maldives overall. He mentioned that

4160-602: Was led by Professor William Johnson Sollas of the University of Oxford . Geologists included Walter George Woolnough and Edgeworth David of the University of Sydney . Professor Edgeworth David led the expedition in 1897. The third expedition in 1898 was led by Alfred Edmund Finckh. Mal%C3%A9 Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives . With a population of 211,908 in 2022 within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of 8.30 square kilometres (3.20 sq mi), Malé

4225-561: Was the site of a secret Royal Navy base called HMS Haitan , to take advantage of the deep anchorage and sheltered natural harbour there. Oil tanks and storage facilities were built on Gan island , together with an airstrip and a flying boat base. The base remained unknown to the Axis throughout the early years of the war. In 1957 the base was transferred to the Royal Air Force as RAF Gan , before being closed down in 1975. The island

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