Atoll remains of an ancient atoll as a hill in a limestone area is called a reef knoll. The second largest atoll by dry land area is Aldabra with 155 km². The largest atoll in terms of island numbers is Huvadhu Atoll in the south of the Maldives with 255 islands. In 1842, Charles Darwin explained the creation of coral atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean based upon observations made during a five-year voyage aboard from 1831 to 1836. Accepted as basically correct, his explanation involved considering that several tropical island types—from high volcanic island, through barrier reef island, to atoll—represented
Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll released the island of Vatavarrehaa for tourist resort development. A 150 bed resort is planned, this is the first resort to be built in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll. There are important Buddhist Archaeological remains in the Islands of Fiyoaree, Gan, Vādū and others. These ruins consist mainly of large ruined stupas. The stupa in Gan was partially explored by Thor Heyerdahl's archaeologists in recent test-excavations. However, all other ruins have not been well researched yet. Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll Gaafu Dhaalu (also known as Southern Huvadhu Atoll or Huvadhu Atholhu Dhekunuburi) is an administrative district of the Maldives formed by the southwestern