Facts about Atolls
- 10
Palau's Rock Islands number approximately 250 limestone islets rising dramatically from the sea, creating a UNESCO World Heritage Site that generates over 90 percent of the nation's tourism revenue annually.
- 09
Funafuti Atoll in Tuvalu rises only 2 meters above sea level, causing its 6,000 residents to face existential threats from a 1-meter sea level rise projected by 2100.
- 08
Midway Atoll's lagoon covers 1,200 square kilometers and historically hosted over 3 million seabirds, making it one of Earth's most important avian breeding grounds.
- 07
Rangiroa Atoll in French Polynesia measures 78 kilometers long but only 5 kilometers wide, making it one of the world's largest atolls by perimeter with a lagoon covering 1,560 square kilometers.
- 06
Tetiaroa Atoll in French Polynesia contains 13 islets surrounding a lagoon and served as a royal retreat for Tahitian chiefs before becoming Marlon Brando's private island in 1967.
- 05
Aldabra Atoll in Seychelles spans 34 square kilometers and harbors the world's largest population of giant tortoises, numbering over 100,000 individuals.
- 04
Kiribati's South Tarawa atoll experiences king tides reaching 2 meters high, flooding homes and contaminating freshwater supplies annually due to climate change.
- 03
Roughly 340 million people worldwide depend on coral atolls for food, income, and coastal protection through their natural reef structures.
- 02
Bikini Atoll's nuclear weapons testing between 1946 and 1958 produced 67 detonations, rendering the Marshall Islands location uninhabitable for decades.
- 01
The Maldives consists of 1,190 coral islands organized into 26 atolls, making it the world's lowest-lying country with a maximum elevation of 2.4 meters.