Maliku (Minicoy)
- ISS002-E-7260
- 18 June 2001
- 07:24 UTC
Minicoy (known locally as Maliku Atoll) is the southernmost of the Lakshadweep archipelago, lying 175 km southwest of Suheli Par in the Cannanore Islands, from which they are separated from by the Nine Degree Channel. To the south lie the atolls of the Maldives, with their northernmost member of Ihavandhippolhu being located 128 km to the south across the Eight Degree Channel (Vangaaru Channel).
The island of Minicoy forms the eastern and southern sides to a small atoll formation known as Maliku. Covering an area of 4.4 km², it is the second largest island of the Lakshadweep archipelago after Andrott, measuring 10.6 km in length and 0.82 km across at its widest point. The island is boomerang-shaped, with the northern end tapering towards Kodi Point as a thin ribbon of land only tens of meters across. In the southwest, northwest of Tunda Point, lies the small island of Wiringili (bottom-right in the image).
The lagoon of Minicoy is shallow (averaging 4 m in depth) covering an area of 25 km². It is connected to the open sea by the Saleh Magu Channel in the northeast.
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center
