Franklin J. Viola Photography Aerial Portfolio

Palau's famed "Rock Islands" are a collection of rounded, foliage-covered isles which seem to float above the surface of the water. Sitting in the far southwest of Micronesia, the archipelago of 343 islands of the Republic of Belau (her traditional name) spreads north to south over 100 miles. The aerial view is rivaled only by the diverse Technicolor of breathtaking reefs, drop-offs, blue holes, crystal caves and World War II wrecks in her sub-aquatic ocean realm.