Lagoon of Rasdhoo Atoll from Atoll research bulletin.

Atoll research bulletin. Lagoon of Rasdhoo Atoll. Ready to dive on into one of Earth’s oceans? An ocean is a large body of salt water. The earth’s oceans cover over 70% of the earth’s surface and hold almost 98% of all the water on earth! There are five oceans: the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Southern Ocean. These oceans have no real borders that separate them, but they are divided and classified by their sea life, temperatures, and water currents. One of these life forms is a coral reef, like the one pictured in the Lagoon of Rasdhoo Atoll. Rasdhoo Atoll is a small island that is part of the Republic of Maldives, a South Asian island country located in the Indian Ocean, and only has a population of 850 people! An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef with a coral rim that often encloses a lagoon, a shallow body of water separated from the rest of the ocean. In coral reefs like the Rasdhoo Atoll, warm water and vibrant reefs with colorful marine life can be explored by snorkelers and scuba divers. The Maldives are part of the “Coral Triangle,” and home to over 500 species of reef-building corals. Would you ever want to go snorkeling at the Rasdhoo Atoll?