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
Malé Atoll part of Malé Atoll but form a separate administrative unit. The capital of Malé Atoll is Thulusdhoo,an island in South Malé Atoll. North Malé Atoll South Malé Atoll Individual Atolls/Islands Resort islands are classified as Uninhabited Islands which have been converted to become resorts. Practically all uninhabited islands in Malé Atoll became tourist resorts during the two final decades of the 20th century. North Male Atoll South Male Atoll North Malé Atoll South Malé Atoll Gaafaru Atoll Malé Atoll Malé Atoll is a group of natural atolls in the Republic of Maldives. It consists of two separate atolls: North Malé