Atoll expedition in 1897. The third expedition in 1898 was led by Alfred Edmund Finckh. On January 6, 2009, U.S. President George W. Bush announced the creation of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, covering several islands and atolls under U.S. jurisdiction. Atoll An atoll (, , , , or ), sometimes called a coral atoll, is a ring-shaped coral reef including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. The coral of the atoll often sits atop the rim of an extinct seamount or volcano which has
Southern Maalhosmadulu Atoll the great frigatebird in the Maldives. Likewise, other marine creatures such as seaturtles and hawksbill 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. 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 10 inhabited islands) and the smaller natural atoll known as Goifulhafehendhu Atoll (Horsburgh Atoll in the Admiralty