ATOLLS

Atolls

• A coral reef system that forms an atoll is roughly circular and surrounds a big, often deep lagoon.
• There are a number of waterways that cut across the reef and connect the lagoon to the sea. The lagoon is 80 to 150 meters deep.
• Atolls are far away from deep-sea platforms. In these places, underwater features like an island or a volcano cone that can reach a level good for coral growth may help make atolls.

      All three of the following can be used to describe an atoll:

1. A true atoll is a reef that surrounds a lake and doesn't have an island in the middle of it.
2. an atoll having an island that surrounds a lagoon;
3. an atoll or coral island that is actually an atoll reef because waves eroded and then rebuilt island caps on top of damaged rocks.

• The Pacific Ocean has a lot more atolls than any other ocean.
• Atolls are well known for places like the Funafuti atoll on Ellice Island and the Fiji atoll.
• In the Lakshadweep Islands, there are also a lot of atolls.
• Most of the atolls in the South Pacific are in the middle of the ocean. In French Polynesia, the Caroline and Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and the Cook Islands, you can find this type of reef all the time.
• There are also many atolls in the Indian Ocean. In the Maldives and Chagos island groups, as well as in the Seychelles and the Cocos Island group, you can find examples.

IMAGE SOURCE (THUMBNAIL)