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Baa Atoll (includes Southern Maalhosmadulu Atoll or Maalhosmadulu Dhekunuburi, Fasdhūtherē Atoll, and Goifulhafehendhu Atoll) is an
administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of the
Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
. It consists of three separate natural atolls, namely
southern Maalhosmadulu Atoll Southern Maalhosmadulu Atoll (code name Baa) is an administrative division of the Maldives. It consists of two separate natural atolls, namely the southern part of Maalhosmadulhu Atoll (which is 42 km long and 32 km wide and consists of ...
(which is 42 km long and 32 km wide and consists of 9 inhabited islands), the Fasdūtherē Atoll (wedged in between the two Maalhosmadulu Atolls and separated from north Maalhosmasdulu Atoll by Hani Kandu or
Moresby Channel Raa Atoll (also known as Northern Maalhosmadulu Atoll or Maalhosmadulu Uthuruburi) is an administrative division from the Maldives. The capital is Ungoofaaru. It includes Northern Maalhosmadulu Atoll proper and the island of Alifushi. 1. Alifus ...
) and the smaller natural
atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gro ...
known as Goifulhafehendhu Atoll (Horsburgh Atoll in the Admiralty charts). Situated on the west of the Maldives atoll chain, it consists of 75 islands of which 13 are inhabited with a population of over 11,000 people. The remaining 57 islands are uninhabited, in addition to eight islands being developed as resorts.
Thulhaadhoo Thulhaadhoo (Dhivehi: ތުޅާދޫ) is one of the inhabited islands of Baa Atoll. History The island has been reclaimed by the government recently. The island is famous for its lacquer work. It used to supply the noble families in the country ...
Island is traditionally well known for being the only island making lacquerwork handicrafts. 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 Thaana, Taana or Tāna (  ) is the present writing system of the Maldivian language spoken in the Maldives. Thaana has characteristics of both an abugida (diacritic, vowel-killer strokes) and a true alphabet (all vowels are written), ...
alphabet used in
Dhivehi Dhivehi, also spelled Divehi, may refer to: *Dhivehi people, an ethnic group native to the historic region of the Maldive Islands. *Dhivehi language, an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by about 350,000 people in the Republic of Maldives ...
. 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).Tim Godfrey, ''Atlas of the Maldives'', Atoll Editions 2004


Geography

Baa atoll consists in two roughly circular sub-atolls, separated by the narrow Kudarikilu Kandu channel. The total measures approximately 38 km wide (east-west) for 46 km long (north-south), covering a surface of 1 127 km2 surface.Paul S. Kench et al., « The geomorphology of Baa (south Maalhosmadulu) atoll and its reef islands », in Andréfoüet & al., ''Biodiversity, resources, and conservation of Baa atoll (Republic of Maldives) : a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve'', Washington DC, Atoll Research Bulletin, 2012. The atoll is formed by 105 coral reefs, representing a reef surface of 263 km2. This reef surface is 61 islands provided with vegetation, and a variable number of sandy bays (between 4 and 14). Half (38) of these islands are less than 10 hectares, constituting less than 20% of the atoll lands. The biggest island is Dharavandhoo (45,5 ha), followed by Kunfunadhoo (35 ha). The highest point, although difficult to establish, is situated i
Funadhoo.
with 3,19 m over the sea level. Image:Baa atoll islands.JPG, Sky view of a part of Baa atoll. Image:Maldives island.JPG, A typical desert island of Baa atoll, with its reef on the first ground. Image:Reethi Beach Maldives.jpg, Sight of Fonimagoodhoo, a
resort island A resort island (French ''Île-hôtel''; "hotel island") is a hotel complex located on an island; in many cases one luxury hotel may own the entire island. More broadly, resort island can be defined as any island or an archipelago that contain ...
.


Biodiversity and ecology

Maalhosmadulu Atoll is also considered as a good example of the rich
biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...
found in the Maldives, including large mangroves and a unique diversity of fauna, such as the benthic fauna. Furthermore, the ring-shaped reef forms known as ''faru'' in the
Dhivehi language Dhivehi, also spelled Divehi, may refer to: *Dhivehi people, an ethnic group native to the historic region of the Maldive Islands. * Dhivehi language, an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by about 350,000 people in the Republic of Maldives ...
is a
reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes—deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock ...
structure which is unique to the
Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
. The southernmost uninhabited island of Olhugiri in the North Maalhosmadulu Atoll lies 13 km north of Goifulhafehendhu Atoll. Olhugiri is well known for its unique natural vegetation and for providing two of the only perching sites for the
great frigatebird The great frigatebird (''Fregata minor'') is a large seabird in the frigatebird family. There are major nesting populations in the tropical Pacific (including the Galapagos Islands) and Indian Oceans, as well as a tiny population in the South A ...
in the Maldives. Likewise, other marine creatures such as sea turtles and
hawksbill The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is large ...
turtles can be encountered. The Fisheries Ministry of the Maldives has banned catching turtles or taking eggs from Olhugiri, which also applies to 11 other islands. One of the most-important species living around Baa Atoll is the Parrotfish. This species eats the corral under the water and secretes it later on as sand. In fact on some of the islands, 70% of the sand found there is the parrot fish's excrement. Image:Baa Atoll Maldives.JPG, A typical underwater landscape of Baa atoll, with a
hawksbill turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is la ...
and a Maldivian clownfish. Image:Baa Atoll (Voavah).JPG, Coral landscape in Voavah. Image:Manta alfredi Maldives.JPG, Baa atoll shelters an important population of manta rays ('' Manta alfredi'') Image:Tursiops truncatus Maldives.jpg,
Bottlenose dolphin Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the comm ...
s off Baa Atoll


Biosphere reserve

Baa Atoll as a
biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
. The Maldives harbors globally-significant biodiversity in its numerous reefs and demonstrates a long history of human interaction with the environment. Covering approximately 139,700 ha of coastal/marine areas, the site is representative of the Maldives’ high diversity of reef animals, with hard and soft corals, reef-associated fish species, marine turtles, Manta Rays and Whale Sharks. In addition to its 12,170 inhabitants, some 350,000 tourists visit the biosphere reserve annually. As part of a Global Environment Facility (GEF) project, the site has great potential for demonstrating sustainable development throughout the Maldives and the region, while relying on a green economy. Hanifaru Bay which is known locally as Vandhumaafaru Adi is thought to be one of the few places in the world where
whale sharks The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, ...
congregate to mate, although recent research suggests otherwise with the vast majority of the whale sharks seen there being young males. The bay however regularly sees some of the largest gatherings of
manta rays Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, '' M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, '' M. alfredi'', reaches . Both have triangular pectoral fins, horn-sh ...
worldwide with up to one hundred individuals in the small inlet when the tide pushes plankton into the bay. The designation of Baa Atoll as a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
World Biosphere Reserve in June 2011 was a significant achievement for the Maldives. placing it in the company of world famous sites such as
Komodo Komodo may refer to: Computers * Komodo Edit, a free text editor for dynamic programming languages * Komodo IDE an integrated development environment (IDE) for dynamic programming languages * Komodo (chess), a chess engine People * Komo ...
island in Indonesia,
Uluru Uluru (; pjt, Uluṟu ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone formation in the centre of Australia. It is in the southern part of the Northern Territory, southwest of Alice Spring ...
(Ayer’s Rock) in Australia and the
Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands ( Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuad ...
.


Voavah

Voavah is the first island designated by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
as an exclusive use island. The island is owned by the Four seasons company and is available for hi

The islands coordinate's are 5.31652 73.077

The island is also known as Hafnas.


See also

*
Reethi Beach Fonimagoodhoo, often called Reethi Beach is an island in the Baa Atoll in the Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމް ...
*
Landaa Giraavaru Landaa Giraavaru, often called Four Seasons at Landaagiraavaru, is an island in the Baa Atoll in the Maldives ( UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve). Home to a luxury '' Four Seasons'' resort since 2004 with rates from USD $1,400 per night, it is one ...

Amilla Maldives Resort and Residences


References

* ''Divehi Tārīkhah Au Alikameh''. Divehi Bahāi Tārikhah Khidmaiykurā Qaumī Markazu. Reprint 1958 edn. Malé 1990. * ''Divehiraajjege Jōgrafīge Vanavaru''. Muhammadu Ibrahim Lutfee. G.Sōsanī. *
Xavier Romero-Frias Xavier or Xabier may refer to: Place * Xavier, Spain People * Xavier (surname) * Xavier (given name) * Francis Xavier (1506–1552), Catholic saint ** St. Francis Xavier (disambiguation) * St. Xavier (disambiguation) * Xavier (footballer, ...
, ''The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom''. Barcelona 1999.


External links


Facts and figures about Baa Atoll
{{coord, 5, 08, N, 72, 57, E, display=title, region:MV_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki Administrative atolls of the Maldives Atolls of the Maldives