Haa Alifu Atoll | |
---|---|
Country | Maldives |
Corresponding geographic atoll(s) | Thiladhunmathi Uthuruburi |
Location | 6° 53' N and 73° E |
Capital | Dhiddhoo |
Government | |
• Atoll Chief | Mohamed Rasheed |
Population | |
• Total | 22,737 |
Letter code | A |
Dhivehi letter code | HA (ހއ) |
• Number of islands | 44 |
• Inhabited islands | Baarah Dhiddhoo Filladhoo Hoarafushi Ihavandhoo Kelaa Maarandhoo Mulhadhoo Muraidhoo Thakandhoo Thuraakunu Uligamu Utheemu Vashafaru |
• Uninhabited islands | Alidhoo Hathifushi Alidhuffarufinolhu Berinmadhoo Beenaafushi Dhapparu Dhapparuhuraa Dhigufaruhura Dhonakulhi Gaafushi Gaamathikulhudhoo Gallandhoo Govvaafushi Huraa Huvahandhoo Innafinolhu Kudafinolhu Maafahi Maafinolhu Madulu Manafaru Matheerah Medhafushi Mulidhoo Naridhoo Umaraiffinolhu Ungulifinolhu Vagaaru Velifinolhu |
Resort islands(*), airports(¤) and industrial islands are also considered uninhabited. |
Haa Alif Atoll - officially referred as Thiladhunmathi Uthuruburi (Northern Thiladhunmathi Atoll) is the northernmost administrative division of the Maldives.
As the administrative division known as Haa Alif, it includes Ihavandhippolhu, the northernmost natural atoll of the Maldive archipelago, as well as a section of the larger Thiladhunmathi or Tiladummati Atoll. Thiladhunmathi was divided into its northern and southern divisions on May 21, 1958. The north division was integrated with Ihavandhippolhu forming administratively a new atoll called Haa Alif atoll or Thiladhumathi North. In total Haa Alif atoll contains 42 islands, 14 of which are inhabited. There are three tourist resorts in the atoll. North Thiladhunmath is third largest atoll in the Maldives in terms of population and land area.
The atoll being at the north tip of the Maldives is the closest to Sri Lanka and India.
Northern Thiladhunmathi Atoll contains 42 islands, 16 of which are inhabited.
NOTE:Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Shaviyani, Noonu, Raa, Baa, Kaafu, etc. are code letters assigned to the present administrative divisions of the Maldives. They are not the proper names of the natural atolls that make up these divisions. Some atolls are divided into two administrative divisions while other divisions are made up of two or more natural atolls. The order followed by the code letters is from North to South, beginning with the first letters of the Thaana alphabet used in Dhivehi. These code letters are not accurate from the geographical and cultural point of view. However, they have become popular among tourists and foreigners in the Maldives who find them easier to pronounce than the true atoll names in Dhivehi, (save a few exceptions, like Ari Atoll). [1]
In Matheerah there is a famous shrine (ziyaraiy, mausoleum) which was visited formerly by the Maldive kings and their families in order to seek blessings. Such tomb visits are aspects of Sufism that existed among the Maldivians until very recent times. Hence this island was referred to with the honorific title Matheerahffulhu (High (noble) Island) by the Sufi Muslims of the Maldives at that time.
Traditionally the northernmost atoll of the Maldives was Minicoy (Maliku). Fishermen from Thuraakunu and from Minicoy often crossed the Maliku Kandu on their boats to visit each other's islands. Marriage alliances were common. Now Minicoy is a part of India and communication is highly restricted.
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.
Minicoy, locally known as Maliku, is an island in Lakshadweep, India. Along with Viringili, it is on Maliku atoll, the southernmost atoll of Lakshadweep archipelago. Administratively, it is a census town in the Indian union territory of Lakshadweep. The island is situated 425 km west of Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala.
Faafu Atoll is an administrative division of the Maldives. It corresponds to the natural atoll of the same name.
Haa Dhaalu Atoll is the code name based on the letters of the Maldivian alphabet commonly used to refer to the administrative division officially known as South Thiladhunmathi Atoll in 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.
Raa Atoll is an administrative division from the Maldives. The capital is Ungoofaaru. It includes Northern Maalhosmadulu Atoll proper and the island of Alifushi. Raa Atoll has the highest amount of populated islands in the Maldives.
Lhaviyani Atoll is an administrative division of the Maldives. Its abbreviation is Lh.
Alif Alif Atoll is an administrative division of the Maldives. It was created on March 1, 1984, combining northern section of Ari Atoll, the small Rasdhukuramathi Atoll, and the isolated island of Thoddoo. Many of the islands in this atoll have been inhabited since ancient times and have archaeological remains from the Maldivian Buddhist period.
Vaavu Atoll is an administrative division of the Maldives, comprising the natural atolls of Felidhu Atoll and the Vattaru Reef.
Mulaku Atoll or Meemu Atoll(މުލަކަތޮޅު) is an administrative division of the Maldives. It corresponds to the natural atoll of the same name, also known as Mulak Atoll or 'Mulakatolhu'.
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.
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 on the Equatorial Channel between Huvadhu Atoll and Addu Atoll.
Dhidhdhoo is the capital of Haa Alif Atoll in the Maldives. Ranked the 2nd most populated place in the north after Kulhudhuffushi City. Located in the center of the atoll, Dhidhdhoo is governed by Dhidhdhoo Island Council under the Local Government Authority. This island is famous for having the least crime rates amongst the 10 most populated islands in the nation consecutively for a number of years.
Thuraakunu is the northernmost island in Maldives, one of the fourteen inhabited islands of Haa Alif Atoll and is geographically part of the Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the Maldives. It is an island-level administrative constituency governed by the Thuraakunu Island Council.
Rasdhoo is an inhabited island of the Maldives. It is also the capital of the Alif Alif Atoll administrative division.
Faadhippolhu Atoll is an administrative division of the Maldives. It corresponds to the natural atoll of the same name.
The Administrative Divisions of the Maldives refers to the various units of government that provide local government services in the Maldives. According to the Decentralization Act 2010, the administrative divisions of the Maldives would consist of atolls, islands, and cities; each administered by their own local council, under the basic terms of home rule. Geographically, the Maldives are formed by a number of natural atolls plus a few islands and isolated reefs which form a pattern from North to South. Administratively, there are currently 189 islands, 18 atolls and 4 cities in the Maldives.
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.
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.
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 Northern Thiladhunmathi Atoll in the Maldives.
6°52′00″N73°00′00″E / 6.86667°N 73°E