Maldives geography constitutes of its location, climate, landforms, vegetation and wildlife of the islands. A part of the Asian continent, the geography of Maldives is unique. Nowhere else can one find such a huge concentration of coral islands forming the atolls in the Indian Ocean as you can see in Maldives. The Maldives archipelago is on the south-southwestern region off the coast of India. The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of Maldives is 3 o 15’N and 73 o 00’E respectively.
Maldives climate, an important aspect of Maldives geography, is predominantly tropical in nature. The flat topography is dotted with beaches of white sand. The islands forming the Maldives archipelago have a coastline stretching for 644km. The total land area of Maldives is 300sq. km.
Maldives climate affects the growth of flora and the development of fauna on the islands. The islands of Maldives that are inhabited by people are 200 in number while 80 more islands are used exclusively for tourism purposes. The geography of Maldives coral islands can be better understood from the following:
