3°48′N 73°24′E / 3.800°N 73.400°E
The Chagos–Lakshadweep Ridge (CLR), also known as the Chagos–Lakshadweep Plateau, is a prominent volcanic ridge and oceanic plateau extending between the Northern and the Central Indian Ocean. Laccadive is an anglicized adaptation of the word Lakshadweep which means "One Hundred Thousand Islands". After 1973, the Indian government de-recognized the colonial word "Laccadive " and renamed it "Lakshadweep" as per local lingua franca.
Lakshadweep (Malayalam: [lɐkʂɐd̪βʷiːbɨ̆]) is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands divided into three island subgroups: the Amindivi Islands in the north, the Laccadive Islands (separated from Amindivi roughly by the 11th parallel north), and the atoll of Minicoy to the south of the Nine Degree Channel. The islands are located between the Arabian Sea to the west and the Laccadive Sea to the east, about 220–440 km (140–270 mi) off the Malabar Coast of mainland India.
The islands occupy a total land area of approximately 32.62 km (12.59 sq mi) with a population of 64,473 as per the 2011 census across the ten inhabited islands. There is a 132 km (82 mi) long coastline with a lagoon area of 4,200 km (1,600 sq mi), territorial waters of 20,000 km (7,700 sq mi) and an exclusive economic zone of 400,000 km (150,000 sq mi). Lakshadweep is the northernmost island group of the exposed undersea mountain range, the Chagos-Lakshadweep Ridge. The entire union territory is administered as a single district with Kavaratti as its capital.