Where is Maldives?

From the first glimpse itself, Maldives proves to be a tropical paradise. A string of islands form fascinating patterns as they lie scattered across the equator to the South West of Sri Lanka. Formed over the 2000 kms Laccadives - Chagos ridge, the Maldivian islands stretch from the North to South for over 820 kms and from East to West for over 120 kms. In total Maldives covers an area of approximately 90,000km2. Only 1% of this is land with the rest being water.
An archipelago of 1190 islands, formed in a collection of 26 beautiful atolls constitutes Maldives. An atoll is best described as a series of concentric layers, with a strong reef constituting the outermost layer.
This reef is composed of coral debris and living coral. This strong reef acts as a natural barrier against rough seas. The Islands set at a distance and parallel to this reef, have their own protective fringe of reef. A break in this coral fringe allows you access to the calmer waters which form the lagoons.
The storms and high waves of the Indian Ocean are not visible here, near any coral fringed island. Though the Indian Ocean doesn't create any havoc here with its storms, it does affect the climate of the country. Acting as a heat buffer, the ocean absorbs stores and gives out the heat much slowly. A cool breeze blows in from the sea throughout.