Coral Atoll. Geographical Encyclopedia Coral Atolls

What is an atoll? An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef that partially or completely surrounds a lagoon. In other words, an atoll is a narrow piece of land that both borders and is surrounded by water. This is what distinguishes an atoll from an ordinary island. While an island is just a piece of land surrounded by water, an atoll contains a body of water within itself.

Another interesting thing about atolls is the fact that they are not actually made of soil, but of coral. The corals have to grow fast enough to replace parts of the atoll that are being destroyed by erosion in order for the atoll to remain intact. Because corals thrive only in warm waters, atolls can only be found in the tropics and subtropics. Hence, atolls are unique coral land masses consisting of crystal clear lagoon and spectacular colorful reefs overflowing with amazing marine life. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?!

Let's go on an amazing journey through the tropics. From the stunning Aitutaki Atoll in the Cook Islands to the otherworldly beauty of the atolls in the Maldives, we present to you the 25 most stunning atolls in the world.

25. Takapoto, French Polynesia

Takapoto, measuring 20 by 7 kilometers, is an atoll located in the Tuamoto archipelago in French Polynesia. Discovered by Dutch navigator Jacob Le Maire in 1616, the atoll is currently home to approximately 380 people.

24. Aitutaki, Cook Islands


Aitutaki Atoll is home to approximately 2,000 people. It is the second most visited island in the Cook Islands. The atoll, which authorities have protected from mass tourism, is famous for its turquoise waters of the central lagoon and picturesque palm-fringed beaches.

23. Ulithi, Caroline Islands


Ulithi, part of the Federated States of Micronesia, is an atoll made up of 40 islets surrounding one of the largest lagoons in the world. The atoll was the main staging area for the US Navy during World War II. Several sunken ships are still at the bottom of this lagoon.

22. Tubbataha Reef, Philippines


Tubbataha Reef, located in the center of the Sulu Sea, is a marine and bird sanctuary consisting of two large atolls - North and South Atoll. This protected area boasts amazing biodiversity and contains 75 percent of the known coral species and 40 percent of the reef fish species known to science.

21. Tarawa, Kiribati


Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, located in the central Pacific Ocean. Home to almost 60,000 people, the atoll boasts a wide reef teeming with fish and a large lagoon spanning more than 500 square kilometers.

20. Tikehau, French Polynesia


Tikehau, located 340 kilometers northeast of Tahiti in the Tuamotu Islands, is an oval-shaped atoll and tourist destination famous for its pink sandy beaches fringed by coconut palms and stunning marine life.

19. Maafushi, Maldives


Maafushi, part of the Kaafu Atoll, is one of the inhabited islands in the Maldives. The atoll was heavily damaged by the tsunami in 2004, but quickly recovered. Currently, Maafushi boasts a thriving local economy based on fishing and tourism.

18. St. Francois Atoll, Seychelles


Saint Francois Atoll, consisting of the two islands of Saint Francois and Bijoutier, is an uninhabited atoll in the western Indian Ocean. The atoll is a habitat for numerous species of birds, including the common tern, the curlew, the turnstone, the tule and so on.

17. Rangiroa, French Polynesia


, one of the largest atolls in the world, consists of approximately 415 tiny islands and shoals, covering a total area of ​​about 170 square kilometers. In the center of the atoll, there is a large lagoon where black pearl oysters are bred.

16. Palmyra Atoll, Equatorial North Pacific Ocean


Palmyra Atoll, located between Hawaii and American Samoa, is an unoccupied atoll consisting of an extensive reef, lagoons and 50 islets. The atoll is officially administered by the United States and is covered with coconut palms, scevola and pisonia trees.

15. Nukuoro, Federated States of Micronesia


Surrounding a lagoon 6 kilometers in diameter, Nukuoro is a remote atoll home to almost 400 people. There is no tourism on the island, except for occasional visits from passing sailing yachts.

14. Ontog Java Atoll, Solomon Islands


Ontong Java Atoll is sometimes also called Lord Howe Atoll. It is a large shoe-shaped atoll consisting of more than 120 low-lying islets. There are two large villages on the atoll - Luaniua and Pelau - where most of the atoll's population lives.

13. Nukumanu, Papua New Guinea


Nukumanu is a medium-sized atoll in Papua New Guinea, located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 4 degrees south of the equator. The atoll consists of 20 sandy islets surrounding a large lagoon.

12. Lihou Reef, Coral Sea Islands Territory


Lihou Reef, located in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia, is the second largest atoll in the world in terms of total area. The atoll, which surrounds a lagoon that extends over an area of ​​more than 2,500 square kilometers, is an important nesting site for many species of birds.

11. Cayo Bolivar, Colombia


Cayo Bolivar, located 25 kilometers from San Andrés, a Colombian coral island in the Caribbean Sea, is an uninhabited atoll consisting of two islands - East Cay and Western Cay. Its diversity of marine life and beautiful beaches have made it a popular destination for tourist excursions.

10. Aldabra, Seychelles


Aldabra, uninhabited and extremely isolated, is a large atoll virtually untouched by man. Known as one of the "crown jewels" of the Indian Ocean, it has a distinctive island fauna, including the largest population of giant tortoises in the world.

9. Ari Atoll, Maldives


Ari Atoll is a natural atoll located in the Maldives. This is one of the largest atolls in the world and is located in the western part of the archipelago. There are more than 20 islands scattered here, most of which have been developed for tourist resorts, and each of them is autonomous and has places for living and recreation.

8. Bangaram Atoll, India


Bangaram Atoll, located in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India, is a popular tourist destination offering numerous recreational activities including scuba diving and snorkeling and deep sea fishing. It has white sandy beaches, a calm lagoon and stunning coral reefs.

7. Chagos Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory


The Chagos Islands are a group of seven consisting of more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean. Remarkable for their stunning biodiversity, these reefs are home to at least 371 species of coral, 784 species of fish and 2 species of turtles.

6. Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Hawaii


Pearl and Hermes Atoll, part of the Northwestern Islands of the Hawaiian archipelago, is a small Hawaiian atoll named after two British whaling ships that were wrecked on the atoll in 1822. The atoll was once a center for the pearl trade and is now a bird sanctuary.

5. Osprey Reef, Coral Sea Islands Territory

Osprey Reef, part of the northwestern group of islands in the Coral Sea, is an oval-shaped submerged atoll. The waters surrounding this atoll are 2 kilometers deep and the slopes of its reef are home to a diverse range of marine fauna, including the rare dwarf Nautilus pompilius.

4. Diego Garcia Atoll, British Indian Ocean Territory


Diego Garcia Atoll, located in the central Indian Ocean, just 7 degrees south of the equator, was settled by the French in the 1790s and was later ceded to the British Crown. It has the largest continuous rim of land of any atoll in the world.

3. Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands


Kwajalein, part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is one of the largest atolls in the world, judging by the area of ​​water it borders. It consists of 97 islands and islets, and its land area is 16 square kilometers. It surrounds a giant lagoon with an area of ​​2,174 square kilometers.

2. Kure Atoll, Hawaii


Kure Atoll, politically part of Hawaii, is the northernmost atoll in the world. This atoll is sometimes also called Ocean Island. It provides habitat for hundreds of thousands of seabirds and numerous marine animals, including the monk seal.

1. Ducie Island, Pitcairn Islands


Ducie Island, located in the South Pacific Ocean, is a small uninhabited atoll in the Pitcairn Islands. Despite its sparse vegetation, the atoll is habitat for a number of bird species. More than 90 percent of the world's Typhoon Murphy population nests on Ducie.

Atoll

ato ll, atoll, husband. (Malay). Ring-shaped coral island.

Naval Dictionary

Atoll

a coral island in the form of a continuous or broken ring, rising several meters above sea level and surrounding a shallow (60-150 m) lagoon. Distributed in the tropical regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans and only in those places where warm currents do not pass.

Geomorphological dictionary-reference book

Atoll

(from Maldivian Atoll) - a ring coral reef, morphologically representing a narrow ridge with a closed (or semi-closed) lagoon inside. A. sizes are different. Some of them are up to 100 km in diameter (A. Menshikova in the Pacific Ocean), but more common are A. with a diameter of several kilometers to several tens of kilometers. There are A. raised (Nauru Island) and submerged (Robbie Bank) due to tectonic movements of their foundations. Most A. are concentrated in the Indo-Pacific tropical zone, but they are also known in the Atlantic, for example, in the Caribbean Sea, and off the coast of Brazil.

Tourist vocabulary

Atoll

(from Maldivian) a coral island or group of islands that looks like a continuous or discontinuous ring surrounding a lagoon. The individual islands that form the atoll are called motu.

encyclopedic Dictionary

Atoll

a coral structure in the form of a continuous or broken ring surrounding a shallow lagoon. The base for an atoll is usually the top of an underwater volcano. Distributed in tropical latitudes of the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Ozhegov's Dictionary

AT ABOUT LL, A, m. Ring-shaped coral island.

An atoll is a coral island that looks like a complete or partial ring. In other words, the atolls are made up of turquoise lagoons, colorful reefs that seamlessly merge with marine life and are reminiscent of the wild and colorful life of the hero of Daniel Defoe's novel, Robinson Crusoe. I invite you to admire the most beautiful atolls in the world from different parts of our planet. See picturesque photographs, learn interesting facts and share your impressions in the comments to this article. Separate stories have already been written about most of the atolls, so follow the links for detailed information.

1. Funafuti.

Tuvalu is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, on the route between Hawaii and Australia. It is the second least populated sovereign state in the world (the Vatican, with a smaller number of inhabitants, rightfully took the lead). Due to the remoteness of the country, very few tourists visit it.

2. Bikini Atoll.

3. Tubbataha Reef.

Tubbataha Reef is one of the best scuba diving spots in the world. Located in the Philippines, the reef consists of two atolls: North and South, which are separated by an 8-kilometer wide channel. Coral reefs are not only a great place for diving, they are also an excellent habitat for many colonies of exotic fish.

4. The Great Blue Hole.

Lighthouse Reef is probably the most popular of the world's atolls, and this is due to the large blue hole, which is located in the very center of the atoll. This is a true unexplored paradise for divers who flock here from all over the world. The deeper one dives into the Blue Hole, the clearer the water and the more spectacular the scenery.

5. Tikehau.

Tikehau is part of the Tuamotu chain of atolls, covering an area in the Pacific Ocean similar in size to Western Europe. This place attracts tourists with its white and pink sand islands, inside of which turquoise lagoons serve as shelters for all kinds of exotic fish. Jacques Cousteau's research team, which visited these places, came to the conclusion that this place has the largest concentration of fish in French Polynesia.

6. Caroline Island.

Europeans were the first to see the island in 1606. Careline is now part of the Republic of Kiribati. Despite more than 300 years of human activity on this island, it is one of the world's most pristine tropical islands and the world's most pristine atoll. Caroline Island and its neighbor Flint Island are home to the world's largest crab populations. The islands are located at an altitude of 6 meters above sea level, which means they are in danger of disappearing due to constantly rising sea levels. According to scientists, the islands could be completely submerged by 2025.

7. Aitutaki Atoll.

Aitutaki consists of several coral and volcanic islands that have a triangular shaped lagoon. A classic palm island, turquoise shallow waters, corals, exotic fish - you will find it all when you get to Aitutaki. The most popular is Tapuaetai, a small island in the southeast of the lagoon.

Aldabra is one of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, over 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) from Mahe, the largest island in the Seychelles. It is the second largest atoll in the world after Kiritimati. Due to the difficulty of access to Aldabra Atoll, it is virtually untouched by humans. About 152,000 giant tortoises live on its territory.

9. Rangiroa.

Rangiroa is one of the largest atolls in the world and the largest atoll in the Tuamotu archipelago. The site is ideal for diving due to its deep lagoon filled with an abundance of marine life. Sharks, sea turtles and dolphins can also be seen here.

10. Atolls of the Maldives.

The tiny country in the Maldives, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, consists of about 1,200 tiny coral islands grouped into 26 atolls. The main activity for tourists here is exploring the enticing depths, which is accessible thanks to excellent visibility. Exploring the depths involves exploring wrecks, which can be found with the help of guides.

Disunited straits. These straits connect ocean with a lagoon. If there are no straits, then the land forms a continuous ring, in this case water the lagoon may be less salty than the ocean. A rise on the ocean floor usually has the shape cone, formed by extinct volcano.

A typical atoll consists of three parts: the outer reef slope, the reef platform and the lagoon. The height of the atoll usually does not exceed 3-4 meters above average sea ​​level. Atolls can have a variety of configurations and sizes. One of the largest atolls on Earth - Kwajelein (Menshikova) in the archipelago Marshall Islands- reaches 2336 km², of which 92% falls on the lagoon, which extends over 300 km. The total area of ​​the 92 islands of this atoll is 14.5 km². Another large atoll is Rangiroa(Rangiroi) in the archipelago Tuamotu- occupies 1639 km², and its 241 islands occupy 43 km². The coral reefs of such large atolls frame a rise on the ocean floor, which is volcanic plateau, and not the cone of a separate volcano. With the exception of small atolls, the area of ​​reefs usually accounts for a few percent of the area of ​​the atolls themselves, while the land area often accounts for only a fraction of a percent. In the case of the small Pangelaya Atoll, reefs and land account for 3 of the 4 km² of the atoll area.

Atolls are usually formed by fouling volcanic island coral reef forming a ring belt. This is often accompanied by the immersion of the volcanic base under water; if such immersion does not occur, then a nuclear atoll is formed with a volcanic island inside the lagoon. A slight decrease in water level (or a rise in the tectonic basis of the atoll) leads to the transformation of a coral reef into an atoll. Further uplift of land may lead to the formation raised atoll. If the atoll is submerged under water, then it is formed underwater bank(that is shallow), which can be called submerged atoll.

Illustrations

Literature

• Ignatiev G.M. Tropical Islands of the Pacific Ocean. Moscow, Mysl Publishing House, 1978, 270 p.
• Scott G. A. J., Rotondo G. M. "A model for the development of types of atolls and volcanic islands on the Pacific lithospheric plate". USA, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1983.
• Rapaport Moshe. “Population pressure on cowl atolls: trends and approaching limits.” USA, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1990.

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See what “Coral Atoll” is in other dictionaries:

Atoll Atoll is a coral island that looks like a continuous or discontinuous ring surrounding a lagoon. Atholl (Scotland) historical region in the center of Scotland, in the mountains north of Perthshire ... Wikipedia A ring-shaped coral reef surrounding the water area. Coral reefs are distributed in tropical and subtropical latitudes, most widely in the Pacific and Indian oceans. The word atoll comes from the name used among the peoples... ...

Collier's Encyclopedia

- (Atoll) lagoon reef, a special type of island. A ring-shaped strip of land surrounding an inland shallow lake or lagoon. Usually A. rises several meters above sea level. The depth in the lagoon is small; 60 150 m (30 80 nautical fathoms), whereas ... ... Marine Dictionary Coral island, reef Dictionary of Russian synonyms. atoll noun, number of synonyms: 9 bikini (5) ...

Synonym dictionary atoll - a, m. atoll m., English. Coral island. Atoll aya, oh. Sometimes the tentacles of an octopus stuck into the hole, which apparently methodically searched the atoll bank. A. Kim Fish Simplicitas. // NM 1997 4 102. Lex. Dal: atol; Toll 1863: atoll; SAN 1891 ...

Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

ATOLL, atoll, husband. (Malay). Ring-shaped coral island. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

ATOLL, ah, husband. Ring-shaped coral island. | adj. atoll, oh, oh. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Husband. coral island with an open ring; an annular, lagoon ridge, an island, gradually carved out by the smallest skull-dwellers, with a lake or lagoon in the middle (the lagoon can be converted into a Russian lagoon). Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dal... ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

- [Malay adol enclosed] a coral island in the form of a narrow circular ridge of reef limestone (coral barrier) enclosing an inner lagoon. The outer slope is steep (about 45-60°), sometimes even overhanging. On the inside of the ring it is often... ... Geological encyclopedia

Books

• 50 most beautiful islands on the planet, Anthony Mason, Dream Island - what do we mean by this concept? The simplest answer is a coral atoll in the tropics, snow-white sand beaches with the shadow of a coconut palm, the leaves of which rustle quietly under... Category: General questions Publisher: