Maldives: Inlaying coral onto silver jewellery, Addu Atoll (Seenu Atoll) 1980

The southernmost atoll in the Maldives and almost 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the capital Malé, Addu has a very well protected harbour lagoon only accessible through four entrances, and is surrounded by barrier reefs. There are 7 inhabited islands and 20 uninhabited islands. Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.