Huvadhu Kandu

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Suvadiva Channel
Suvadiva Channel in 1784 D'Anville map Channel of Sua Diva1784 D'Anville Wall Map of Asia - Geographicus - Asia-anville-1794.jpg
Suvadiva Channel in 1784 D'Anville map
Courant de Souadou on 1687 Sanson map Courant de Souadou-1687 Sanson - Rossi Map of Asia - Geographicus - Asia-rossi-1697 - Copy.jpg
Courant de Souadou on 1687 Sanson map

Suvadiva Channel (Dv: Huvadu Kandu) is the broad channel that separates the northern and central Maldives from the southern atolls.

Contents

Sperm whales are a common sight on the surface of the Suvadiva Channel.

Geography

This channel lies between Haddhunmathi Atoll and Huvadhu Atoll and it is the broadest channel between any other atoll of Maldives.

In the British Admiralty charts it is called One and a Half Degree Channel. On old French maps it appeared as Courant de Souadou.

Roughly in the middle of the broad Huvadu channel there is a small bank known as Medutila (also called Derahaa). This place is the peak of a submarine mountain, and perhaps an atoll in the process of formation. This submerged bank is very difficult to spot for at its shallowest point there is a depth of 6 fathoms (12 m). It looks like a paler blue patch surrounded by huge expanses of the deepest ocean. There, no island can be seen in the horizon for many dozens of miles.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of the Maldives</span>

Maldives is an island country in the Indian Ocean, South Asia, south-southwest of India. It has a total land size of 298 km2 (115 sq mi) which makes it the smallest country in Asia. It consists of approximately 1,190 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 26 atolls, spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometers, making this one of the most geographically dispersed countries in the world. It has the 31st largest exclusive economic zone of 923,322 km2 (356,497 sq mi). Composed of live coral reefs and sand bars, the atolls are situated atop a submarine ridge, 960 km (600 mi) long that rises abruptly from the depths of the Indian Ocean and runs from north to south. Only near the southern end of this natural coral barricade do two open passages permit safe ship navigation from one side of the Indian Ocean to the other through the territorial waters of Maldives. For administrative purposes the Maldives government organized these atolls into twenty-one administrative divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huvadhu Atoll</span>

Huvadhu, Suvadive, Suvaidu or Suvadiva is the atoll with most islands in the world. The atoll is located in the Indian Ocean. It is south of the Suvadiva Channel in the Republic of Maldives with a total area of 3152 km2, of which 38.5 km2 is dry land. The atoll contains 255 islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atolls of the Maldives</span> Physical geographic entity

The Maldives are formed by 20 natural atolls, along with a few islands and isolated reefs today which form a pattern stretching from 7 degrees 10′ North to 0 degrees 45′ South. The largest of these atolls is Boduthiladhunmathi, while the atoll containing the most islands is Huvadhu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Thiladhunmathi Atoll</span> Place in Maldives

Haa Alif Atoll - officially referred as Thiladhunmathi Uthuruburi is the northernmost administrative division of the Maldives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noonu Atoll</span> Atoll of the Maldives

Noonu Atoll is an administrative division of the Maldives corresponding to the southern section of Miladhunmadulu Atoll. The capital is Manadhoo. Total population of Noonu Atoll is around 10,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lhaviyani Atoll</span> Atoll of the Maldives

Lhaviyani Atoll is an administrative division of the Maldives. Its abbreviation is Lh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaafu Alifu Atoll</span> Atoll of the Maldives

Gaafu Alifu is an administrative division of the Maldives created on February 8, 1962, when Huvadhu Atoll was divided into two districts. Gaafu Alifu corresponds to the northeastern section of this large natural atoll north of the line extending between the channels of Footukandu and Vaarulu Kandu. The capital of this district is Vilingili.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll</span> Administrative district of the Maldives

Gaafu Dhaalu is an administrative district of the Maldives formed by the southwestern section of Huvadhu Atoll. It was created on February 8, 1962 when Huvadhu Atoll was divided into two districts. Gaafu Dhaalu corresponds to the Southwestern section of this large natural atoll, south of the line extending between the channels of Footukandu and Vaarulu Kandu. The capital of this region is Thinadhoo. There are 153 islands in this district, 10 of which are inhabited. This district is located about 340 kilometers south of the capital Malé.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gnaviyani Atoll</span> Atoll of the Maldives

Gnaviyani Atoll is one of the administrative divisions of the Maldives corresponding to the natural atoll, Fuvahmulah. Surfacewise this is the smallest administrative unit in the Maldives, situated in the Equatorial Channel between Huvadhu Atoll and Addu Atoll.

Kondey or Kondē is one of the inhabited islands of Northern Huvadhu Atoll, administrative code Gaafu Alifu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Suvadive Republic</span> Short-lived breakaway state from 1958 to 1963

The United Suvadive Republic was a short-lived breakaway state from the Kingdom of Maldives between 1958 and 1963 consisting of the three southern atolls of the Maldive archipelago: Addu Atoll, Huvadhu Atoll and Fuvahmulah. The first president of the new nation was Abdulla Afeef Didi. The secession occurred in the context of the struggle of the Maldives’ emergence as a modern nation. The United Suvadive Republic inherited a Westminster system of governance cloned from Britain along with other institutional structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Maalhosmadulu Atoll</span> Atoll of the Maldives

Northern Maalhosmadulu Atoll is an atoll from the Maldives. It includes Northern Maalhosmadulu Atoll proper and the island of Alifushi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Maalhosmadulu Atoll</span> Place in Maldives

Southern Maalhosmadulu Atoll is an administrative division of the Maldives. It consists of two separate natural atolls, namely the southern part of Maalhosmadulhu Atoll and the smaller natural atoll known as Goifulhafehendhu Atoll. 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 five islands being developed as resorts. Thulhaadhoo Island is traditionally well known for its lacquerwork handicrafts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolhumadulu Atoll</span> Atoll of the Maldives

Kolhumadulu Atoll is an administrative division of the Maldives. It corresponds to the natural atoll of the same name. The ancient name of the island was Kolhumaduva during the time of King Koimala who united all atolls of the Maldives under one kingdom for the first time.

Maliku Kandu and Māmalē Kandu Divehi are the traditional names of the broad Minicoy Channel between Minicoy and Ihavandippolhu in the north of the Maldives. The latter name is given after the Malabar merchant Maamaley Marakkaaru who controlled most of the sea trade along this route before the arrival of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean. The maritime boundary between the Maldives and India runs through the channel.

Kardiva Channel is a broad channel running from southwest to northeast and cutting across the Maldive atoll chain. This channel divides the Northern from the Central atolls of the Maldives.

Addu Kandu, Dv. for "Addu Channel", is the traditional name of the broad channel between Huvadhu Atoll and Addu Atoll in the south of Maldives.

M'Clure Bay is a Peel Sound waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located on the western side of Somerset Island, between Aston Bay and Birmingham Bay.

There are broad channels between the Atolls of the Maldives known locally as 'kandu'. The deepness and broadness of the channels vary from channel to channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haa Alif Atoll</span> Atoll of the Maldives

Haa Alif Atoll is the code name based on the letters of the Maldivian alphabet commonly used to refer to the administrative division officially known as North Thiladhunmathi Atoll in the Maldives.

References

Coordinates: 1°30′00″N73°00′00″E / 1.50000°N 73.00000°E / 1.50000; 73.00000