Ujae Atoll

Ujae Atoll

NASA picture of Ujae Atoll
Ujae Atoll
Geography
Location North Pacific Ocean
Coordinates 09°03′00″N 165°39′00″E / 9.05000°N 165.65000°E / 9.05000; 165.65000
Archipelago Ralik
Total islands 14
Area 1.86 km2 (0.72 sq mi)
Highest elevation 3 m (10 ft)
Administration
Demographics
Population 448 (1998)
Ethnic groups Marshallese

Ujae Atoll (Marshallese: Ujae or Wūjae, [u̯u͡izʲæ͡ɑɑ̯ɛ̯ɛɛ̯][1]) is a coral atoll of 15 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only 1.86 square kilometres (0.72 sq mi), but it encloses a lagoon of 185.94 square kilometres (71.79 sq mi). It is located about 122 kilometres (76 mi) west of Kwajalein Atoll.

In folklore, the Marshallese people have long considered the island to be home to timon (demons).[2]

In 1998, the population of Ujae Atoll was 448.

Its first recorded sighting was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Saavedra on 21 September 1529.[3] Another sighting was reported by the Spanish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos in January 1543.[4]

In 1884, the Empire of Germany claimed Ujae Atoll along with the rest of the Marshall Islands. 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
  2. ↑ Kelin, Daniel A. II (2003), Marshall Islands Legends and Stories, Honolulu: Bess Press Publishers
  3. ↑ Coello, Francisco "Conflicto hispano-alemán" Boletín de Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid, t.XIX. 2º semestre 1885, Madrid, pp.235, 267, 268
  4. ↑ Sharp, Andrew The discovery of the Pacific Islands Oxford, 1960, p.32.


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