The islands of the Maldives are part of 26 natural coral atolls. The word 'atoll' is initially a Maldivian word which located its method in to some other foreign languages. The atolls are underwater platforms lying on a spine in the Indian Sea. The edges of these systems are greater and form a sizable safety ringrif with periodic openings. In the atolls regions are typically surrounded by shallows and have their own protective reefs as well as lagunes.