Gaafaru
- Landsat 7
- Path 146, Row 057
- 12 January 2001
Gaafaru (part of the Kaafu Atoll administrative unit, which also includes North Male) is a small, oval-shaped atoll located 2 km across the Gaafaru Kandu Channel from the northern tip of the much larger North Male; its nearest neighbour to the north is the reef-fringed island of Kaashidhoo, located 20 km distant across the eastern end of the Kardiva Channel.
Measuring 14 km in length (east to west) and 7 km across (north to south) the atoll is one of the smallest of the entire archipelago, consisting of a deep central lagoon that is surrounded by three reef segments separated from one another by two narrow passages on the northern side. On the southeastern extremity of the atoll, the main island — also called Gaafaru — has an area of 10 ha with dimensions of 525 m by 300 m.
image: millenium coral reefs landsat archive/usf millenium global coral reef mapping project/nasa seawifs/nasa jsc