Namu Atoll

Namu Atoll

NASA picture of Namu Atoll
Namu Atoll (Marshall islands)
Geography
Location	North Pacific
Coordinates	07°59′00″N 168°10′25″E / 7.9833333°N 168.17361°E / 7.9833333; 168.17361
Archipelago	Ralik
Total islands	51
Area	6.27 km2 (2.421 sq mi)
Highest elevation	3 m (10 ft)
Country
Marshall Islands
Demographics
Population	801 (as of 1998)
Ethnic groups	Marshallese

Namu Atoll (Marshallese: Nam̧o, /nʲamˠɘɦˠʷ/ or [næ͡ɑm̴ɤ͡oo̯]^[1]) is a coral atoll of 54 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only 6.27 square kilometres (2.42 sq mi), but that encloses a lagoon of 397 square kilometres (153 sq mi). It is located approximately 62 kilometres (39 mi) south-southwest of Kwajalein Atoll.

The population of Namu Atoll was 801 in 1998.

History

Namu Atoll was claimed by the Empire of Germany along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884, and the Germans established a trading post. After World War I, the island came under the South Pacific Mandate of the Empire of Japan. Following the end of World War II, it came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986.

References

1. ^ Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index

External links

• Marshall Islands site
• Entry at Oceandots.com