Gaafaru Atoll

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gaafaru Atoll
NASA satellite image of the Gaafaru Atoll
NASA satellite image of Gaafaru Atoll
Waters Lakkadive Sea
(Indian Ocean)
archipelago Maldives
Geographical location 4 ° 44 ′  N , 73 ° 30 ′  E Coordinates: 4 ° 44 ′  N , 73 ° 30 ′  E
Gaafaru Atoll (Maldives)
Gaafaru Atoll
Number of islands 2
Main island Gaafaru
Land area 11 ha
Residents 1148 (2007)
Template: Infobox Atoll / Maintenance / HoeheFehlt

The Gaafaru Atoll (also: Gahaafaru Atoll , Dhivehi ގާފަރު) is a small geographic atoll in the Maldives . The main island is also called Gaafaru .

description

The atoll belongs to the eastern chain of the Maldives and belongs to the central atoll group Medhuraajjé . It is located 2 kilometers north of North Malé Atoll and 20 kilometers south of the isolated island of Kaashidhoo . The rather narrow but deep Gaafaru Channel ( Gaafaru Kandu ) runs between North Malé Atoll and Gaafaru .

The name Gaafaru means 'Northern Reef' in German. Most of the atoll is made up of the elliptical coral reef , which is dangerous for ships , only in the southeast there are two islands. The atoll stretches 14 km in west-east direction and 7 km in north-south direction. The reef consists of three separate coral segments, through two openings in the north of the reef and a very narrow man-made channel in the south, boats can enter the deep central lagoon .

Administratively, the Gaafaru Atoll, along with the North and South Malé Atoll and Kaashidhoo, belongs to the Kaafu administrative district .

Islands of the Gaafaru Atoll

The atoll consists only of the two islands Gaafaru and Velifaru, making it one of the smallest atolls in the country. There are no tourist islands in the Gaafaru Atoll .

Gaafaru

The island of Gaafaru is the main inhabited island of the atoll of the same name and has 1148 inhabitants (2007 census). The 10  hectare (525 m × 300 m) island is 63.5 km from the capital, Malé . As a so-called local island , Gaafaru can normally only be visited by tourists as part of organized tours.

Velifaru

In contrast to Gaafaru, which is just over a kilometer away, Velifaru is uninhabited and only about half a hectare in size. Since there is hardly any vegetation on the island, it is practically a sandbar . Directly to the east of Velifarus, the man-made canal runs through the reef, through which boats can reach the lagoon and the port of the neighboring island of Gaafaru.

literature

  • Wolfgang Därr: Maldives . DuMont Travel Paperback
  • Xavier Romero-Frias: The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom . Barcelona 1999

Web links