What is atoll in a sentence?
How to use Atoll in a sentence. The Aldabra Islands constitute an atoll consisting of an oval ring of land, some 40 m. It is impossible to estimate the total number of the islands; an atoll, for instance, which may slate in the Marquesas, which afford a type of the extinct volcanic islands, as does Tahiti.
What’s an example of an atoll?
The definition of an atoll is a ring shaped coral reef, or close coral islands that enclose or almost enclose a lagoon. The Bikini in the Pacific Ocean is an example of an atoll. An island or chain of islets connected by a coral reef that nearly or entirely encloses a lagoon.
Is there a word atoll?
An atoll is an island formed by a ring-shaped coral reef encircling a lagoon. The word comes from the language of the Maldives, an island chain in the Indian Ocean famous for gorgeous beaches and coral reefs.
Where is the world’s largest atoll?
Kiritimati Atoll, also called Christmas Atoll, coral island in the Northern Line Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean. It is the largest island of purely coral formation in the world, having a circumference of about 100 miles (160 km).
Whats the definition of an atoll?
atoll • \AT-tawl\ • noun. : a coral island consisting of a reef surrounding a lagoon.
What’s the atoll definition?
An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef, island, or series of islets. An atoll surrounds a body of water called a lagoon. Sometimes, atolls and lagoons protect a central island. Channels between islets connect a lagoon to the open ocean or sea. Atolls develop with underwater volcanoes, called seamounts.
What is the meaning of an atoll?
a coral island
Definition of atoll
: a coral island consisting of a reef surrounding a lagoon.
What is an atoll meaning?
Do people live in atolls?
Atolls are sparsely populated, low-lying islands whose white, sandy beaches and placid lagoons are ideally suited to the tourism industry. Island nations made of atolls include Maldives, in the Indian Ocean, and Kiribati, in the Pacific.
How deep is an atoll?
Atolls consist of ribbons of reef that may not always be circular but whose broad configuration is a closed shape up to dozens of kilometres across, enclosing a lagoon that may be approximately 50 metres (160 feet) deep or more.
Which country is an atoll?
Most of the world’s atolls are in the Pacific Ocean (with concentrations in the Caroline Islands, the Coral Sea Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Tuamotu Islands, Kiribati, Tokelau, and Tuvalu) and the Indian Ocean (the Chagos Archipelago, Lakshadweep, the atolls of the Maldives, and the Outer Islands of Seychelles).
How big is an atoll?
atoll, coral reef enclosing a lagoon. Atolls consist of ribbons of reef that may not always be circular but whose broad configuration is a closed shape up to dozens of kilometres across, enclosing a lagoon that may be approximately 50 metres (160 feet) deep or more.
Do atolls float?
The first and most important fact, discovered by none other than Charles Darwin, is that coral atolls essentially “float” on the surface of the sea. Atolls exist in a delicate balance between new sand and coral rubble being added from the reef, and sand and rubble being eroded by wind and wave back into the sea.
How many atolls are in the world?
440 atolls
There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can grow. Most of the approximately 440 atolls in the world are in the Pacific Ocean.