The Republic of the Maldives is a chain of around 1200 islands stretching 750km across the Indian Ocean with the northernmost island at 7° 06" N and the southernmost island just crossing the Equator at 0° 42" S. The exact number of islands varies according to the season and method of classification - islands come and go with the wind, waves and currents!

The tiny islands are geographically grouped into ring shaped reefs called "atolls" and there are 26 of these atoll formations. An atoll encloses a central lagoon with a flat, sandy bottom at a relatively shallow depth of 40-100m. The outer reef, which forms many of the islands, is often broken by deep channels that allow oceanic water to flow into and out of the central lagoon. Inside the atoll there are numerous smaller ring shaped reefs and tillas.