Coral reefs are beautiful, colourful and incredibly fragile. It is surprising how something so sensitive and fragile bears such a huge responsibility when it comes to the eco-systems of the aquatic world. The coral reefs in Maldives are much recognized for the purposes that they fulfill. These dainty living beings provide a home for the many species that thrive off the coast of the Maldivian archipelago. They have also become one of the major reasons that have contributed to the boom of the tourism industry in the Maldives. Almost all of the resorts and boutique hotels in the islands such as the Anantara Dhigu Maldives Resort to name just one among many, focus on offering the delights of observing the coral world as a recreational experience to visitors.
There are three main types of coral. They are namely atolls, fringing reefs and barrier reefs. Fringing reefs inhabit the areas that are directly part of the shore, and there is no lagoon between the shore and the fringing reef. These are also the most often seen reefs out of the three kinds. However, because of the fact that there is no lagoon in between them and the shore, these reefs are increasingly victimized due to factors such as pollution and sedimentation. As such, the population of fringing reefs has been on the decline in the past few years, going hand-in-hand with beachside development and urbanization, which has opened them up to more and more harmful human contact.
Barrier reefs are less common, and the largest of these is the famous Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Barrier reefs are usually a long chain of many tiny reefs that come together to form long and wide stretches of reef that can go on for miles and miles.
Atolls are usually circular in shape. They are very commonly found in the Indian Ocean as well as the South Pacific, and are said to show increasingly singular trends of geomorphology.
Fritzjames Stephen is a travel writer, who writes content based on the myriad of experiences and indulgences that the world has to offer travellers across all walks of life.
