Island groups of Arabian Sea

Kavaratti is the capital of Lakshadweep. The largest island of Lakshadweep is Andrott. These islands are located at a distance of 220-440 km off the Kerala coast.

This group of islands is composed of small coral islands. Earlier they were known as Laccadive, Minicry and Amin- ive. In 1973 these were re-named as Lakshadweep. Kavarat- ti island is the administrative headquarters of Lakshadweep. The Island have a total area of 32 sq. km.

It is the central subgroup of the Lakshadweep, separated from the Amindivi Islands subgroup roughly by the 11th parallel north and from the atoll of Minicoy (Maliku)-far to the south-by the 9 Degree or Mamala Channel.

Formerly the Union Territory of Lakshadweep was known as Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands, a name that was changed to Lakshadweep by an act of Parliament in 1973.

The name originated in the fact that while the northern group of Amindivi had stopped in 1784 being a vassal state of the Kannur Kingdom (Arakkal) in exchange for fealty to Tippu Sultan's Kingdom of Mysore, the southern group remained loyal to Kannur.

Atolls are located at great distances from deep see platforms, where the submarine features may help in formation of atolls, such as a submerged island or a volcanic cone which may reach a level suitable for coral growth.

An atoll may have any one of the following three forms-
1. true atoll-a circular reef enclosing a lagoon with no island;
2. an atoll surrounding a lagoon with an island;
3. a coral island or an atoll island which is, in fact, an atoll reef, built by the process of erosion and deposition of waves with island crowns formed on them.

Atolls are far more common in the Pacific than any other ocean. The Fiji atoll and the Funafuti atoll in the Ellice/Island are well known examples of atolls. A large 'number of atolls also occur in the Lakshadweep Islands. In the South Pacific, most atolls occur in mid-ocean.

Examples of this reef type are common in French Polynesia, the Caroline and Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and the Cook Islands. The Indian Ocean also contains numerous atoll formations. Examples are found in the Maldives and Chagos island groups, the Seychelles, and in the Cocos Island group.

It is a uni-district Union Territory and comprises 12 atolls, three reefs, five submerged banks, and ten inhabited islands. All Islands are 220 to 440 km away from the coastal city of Kochi in Kerala, in the emerald Arabian Sea. It is directly under the control of the Centre through an administrator.

It is a uni-district Union Territory and comprises 12 atolls, three reefs, five submerged banks, and ten inhabited islands. All Islands are 220 to 440 km away from the coastal city of Kochi in Kerala, in the emerald Arabian Sea. It is directly under the control of the Centre through an administrator.

All Islands are 220 to 440 km away from the coastal city of Kochi in Kerala, in the emerald Arabian Sea. It is directly under the control of the Centre through an administrator.