Gan (Addu Atoll)
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Gan | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 00°41′40″S 073°09′18″E / 0.69444°S 73.15500°E | |
Country | Maldives |
Geographic atoll | Addu Atoll |
Distance to Malé | 258.48 km (160.61 mi) |
Area | |
• Total | 2.256 km2 (0.871 sq mi) |
Dimensions | |
• Length | 1.000 km (0.621 mi) |
• Width | 0.330 km (0.205 mi) |
Population | |
• Total | 1,104 |
• Density | 490/km2 (1,300/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+05:00 (MST) |
Gan (
The origin of the word "Gan" is in the Sanskrit word "Grama", meaning "village".
Gan is the second largest island of the atoll, after Hithadhoo, and measures 2.2561 square kilometres (0.87 sq mi) in area. Gan was formerly inhabited, but its inhabitants were moved to neighbouring islands after the
Gan has now a hotel catering for tourists and is connected by causeways to the neighbouring islands of
This island is not to be confused with two other Maldive islands called "Gan": Gan (Huvadhu Atoll) and Gan (Laamu Atoll).
Archaeology
In 1922
British base
In 1941, during the
Royal Navy engineers landed in August 1941 from
Ship's supplies for the fleet were provided from a pair of Australian refrigerated ships,
The six major islands were garrisoned by the 1st
The
On 5 January 1946, British Loyalty was scuttled southeast of Hithadhoo Island in the Addu Atoll lagoon. Despite the fact that she is still leaking oil, she has become a popular diving location.
In 1957, the naval base was transferred to the Royal Air Force. From 1957, during the Cold War, it was used as an outpost as RAF Gan. The base remained in intermittent service until 1976, when British Forces withdrew.
From Gan Island several rockets of the Kookaburra type were launched from a pad at 0°41' S and 73°9' E.[2]
Most of the employees who had experience working for the British military spoke fluent English. When the base at Gan was closed for good, they turned to the nascent tourism industry for employment. As a result, there was an influx of Addu people to Malé seeking employment in the nearby resorts and also looking for education for their children.
After the British military left, the airstrip was neglected and remained almost unused for many decades. Recently it has been developed into what is now Gan International Airport.
Climate
Gan has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen: Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.
Climate data for Gan, (elevation 1.8 m (5.9 ft), 1991−2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.7 (87.3) |
31.2 (88.2) |
31.6 (88.9) |
31.6 (88.9) |
31.3 (88.3) |
31.2 (88.2) |
30.8 (87.4) |
30.7 (87.3) |
30.6 (87.1) |
30.6 (87.1) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.9 (87.6) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 28.1 (82.6) |
28.6 (83.5) |
28.7 (83.7) |
28.8 (83.8) |
28.6 (83.5) |
28.4 (83.1) |
28.0 (82.4) |
27.9 (82.2) |
27.8 (82.0) |
27.9 (82.2) |
27.8 (82.0) |
27.8 (82.0) |
28.2 (82.8) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 25.2 (77.4) |
25.6 (78.1) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.3 (77.5) |
24.9 (76.8) |
24.7 (76.5) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.7 (76.5) |
24.8 (76.6) |
25.1 (77.2) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 203.7 (8.02) |
79.2 (3.12) |
120.5 (4.74) |
172.5 (6.79) |
242.9 (9.56) |
143.7 (5.66) |
197.6 (7.78) |
195.5 (7.70) |
223.6 (8.80) |
243.8 (9.60) |
234.8 (9.24) |
225.5 (8.88) |
2,283.3 (89.89) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 10.6 | 5.8 | 7.1 | 11.7 | 13.4 | 9.3 | 11.6 | 11.8 | 12.8 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 14.4 | 138.3 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 241.4 | 247.9 | 267.1 | 245.3 | 231.3 | 217.4 | 204.6 | 211.2 | 196.6 | 219.1 | 224.2 | 229.2 | 2,735.3 |
Source: NOAA[3]
|
See also
References
- H.C.P. Bell, The Maldive Islands; Monograph on the History, Archaeology and Epigraphy. Reprint Colombo 1940. Council for Linguistic and Historical Research. Male’ 1989
- ISBN 84-7254-801-5
- Royal Navy on Addu Atoll
- Mike Butler. "The British Loyalty". Archived from the original on January 3, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-08.
Notes
- ^ British Loyalty at uboat.net; retrieved 12 November 2019
- ^ "Kookaburra". Astronautix.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2003. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
- ^ "Gan Climate Normals 1991–2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
External links
- Gan travel guide from Wikivoyage