The Lakshadweep Islands and coral reefs
The Lakshadweep Islands, also
referred to as the Oceanic Island Reef, are situated between 71° and 74°E
longitude and 8° to 12' 30°N latitude. This archipelago comprises 36 islands
and atolls, with 10 of them—Androth, Agatti, Bitra, Chetlath, Kadamat, Kiltan,
Kalpeni, Kavaratti, and Minicoy—being inhabited. The remaining islands consist
of five banks named Bassas de Pedro, Sessostris, Coradivh, Aminipitti, and
Elikalpeni, along with submerged reefs like Parali, Baliapani, Cheriapani, and
Perumalpar (source: www.lakshadweep.nic.in).
Lakshadweep, located within
Indian territorial waters, boasts the country's sole atoll reef. An atoll, a
ring-shaped coral island, forms as coral accumulates either on a submerged bank
or the rim of a volcanic crater. Typically, it encircles a lagoon, which is a
body of water bordered by the atoll. These regions often exhibit high current
flows in their channels. The islands are encircled by a ring-shaped lagoon with
shallow, crystal-clear waters running parallel to the islands, fostering
diverse ecosystems of organisms and coral reefs. During high tide, the lagoon's
depth averages from 2 to 4 meters, exposing the corals during low tide. The
Lakshadweep archipelago comprises 36 small coral atolls and islands,
encompassing a total lagoon area of approximately 4,200 square kilometres.
Normally its all island commonly seen corals are Acropora, Porites, Pocillopora,
Montipora, etc are types of corals seen in the Lakshadweep water.
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