Felidhoo
- STS081-E-5863
- 21 January 1997
Located on the central regions of the eastern chain of atolls that comprise the Maldivian archipelago, Felidhoo (Vaavu Atoll) is Situated 13 km south from South Male and 14 km north from Mulaku; its closest neighbour is the small Vattaru Reef lying within the channel between Felidhoo and Mulaku. The atoll's eastern extremity — Fotteyo Mul (at top-right in the above image) — is the easternmost point of the archipelago.
Felidhoo measures 54 km in length from east to west with a maximum north to south width of 30 km in the west. The outer perimeter of the atoll consists of around 50 major reef segments, each with a shallow lagoon and sometimes a single small islet. The southeastern and eastern rim is completely different in character — it comprises a single reef measuring some 46 km in length. The western half of the main lagoon contains numerous faros reef formations — they are almost totally absent from the eastern side of the atoll.
Located upon the outer reefs and within the main lagoon are a total of 26 main islands and islets. Of these, the largest are Felidhoo (11.8 ha) and Thinadhoo (9.1 ha).
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center
