Caroline Island

Template: Infobox Atoll / Maintenance / height Missing

The Caroline Atoll is an uninhabited coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, which belongs to Kiribati. It consists of three main islands Nake Islet (coordinates 9 ° 54 ' 27 " S, 150 ° 13' 10" W ), Long Islet (9 ° 56 ' 07 " S, 150 ° 12' 44" W) and South Islet ( 10 ° 00 '00 " S, 150 ° 14' 39" W). Although the atoll consists of several islands, it is often referred to as Caroline Iceland. It is expected the atoll to the group of Southern Line Islands.

Due to the celebration of the Millennium in 2000 the atoll was renamed and now bears the name officially Millennium Iceland (Millennium Island). It is located 1107 km south of the equator, and 849 km north and a little west of Papeete, Tahiti. From the neighboring islands Flint and Vostok in the West, it is in each case about 230 km away.

Other names of the past were Hirst Iceland, Iceland Clark and Independence Iceland.

Geography

The Caroline Atoll is a slightly crescent-shaped atoll with a total area of 24 km ², consisting of a coral reef surrounding a narrow lagoon. To Atoll include about 39 small islands ( motus ) of different sizes, whose land area adds up to 3.76 km ². 1965, at low tide only 15 separate, distinguish islands separated from each other by water arms, and concluded on the basis of bare, dry coral that there were even earlier 25 islands. The extension in north-south direction is 13 km in east-west direction 2.5 km away. The lagoon measures 8.7 by 1.2 km, with an area of 6.3 km ². In general, the islands are only 4.5 to 6 m high; the highest point is 6 m above sea level.

The atoll is bounded on the north and south of something larger islands. The elongated island in the north bears the name Nake Islet. In the south of the atoll is bordered by South Islet. More islets decide the atoll in the west (Bird Islet ), the Northeast (Long Islet ) and the east (Pig Islet, Islet Brothers and Arundel Islet ).

Like all the islands of the atolls consist Caroline Atolls of sand deposits and limestone cliffs. These come from the coral reef that extends 1.6 km from the shore. The reef is not dry at low water. On the Caroline Atoll there are no natural anchorages or deep passages from outside the mostly shallow lagoon. Landings are therefore only possible with smaller, flat-bottomed boats at a point with a small Riffdurchbruch northwest of South Islet. At high tide it is inside the reef possible to reach a beach by boat, about 400 m must be waded through knee- deep water at low tide.

Fresh water ( aquifer ) is available at Nake Islet and South Islet. For temporary use two taps found on South Islet and one on Nake Islet, otherwise can be dug in the relevant locations for water.

List of island chains and individual islands

List of islands

Climate

On the Caroline Atoll has a tropical climate with fairly uniform temperatures. There are sudden showers, mostly at night. The most of the year blowing a south-easterly wind, but in addition also occur winds from an easterly and northerly direction.

Flora and Fauna

Since the Caroline Atoll is considered most original place of the Line Islands, has been considered to explain the Atoll World Heritage.

Most of the islands are covered with numerous coconut trees. In addition, also the remains of forests on low. It will be called: screw pines (Pandanus ), Heliotrope ( Heliotropium ), Morinda. Here and there, there should be greater Calophyllum plants. In Pig Islet there is one of the largest inventories of Pisonia trees ( Pisonia grandis) in the Pacific.

The atoll is an important breeding area for seabirds and train. In particular, Sooty Terns come ( Onychoprion fuscatus ) before ( a colony dominated the eastern islands ) and the Frigate ( Fregata minor). The atoll is home to one of the largest populations of palm thief ( latro Birgus ). Other notable animals are the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and giant clams ( Tridacna, Tridacnidae ). As the only mammal a reddish- brown rat is ( Rattus norvegicus, unclear) before. Both the reef and within the lagoon see different species of fish and other marine animals.

History

We found evidence of an early settlement by Polynesian peoples in South Islet and Nake Islet in the form of graves, Queräxten and remnants of ritual sites.

For the first time Caroline Atoll, was mentioned on 16 December 1795 William Robert Broughton, captain of the HMS Providence. In 1821, Caroline was again driven by the English whaling ship Supply and called after their captain Thornton Iceland. After the atoll was visited at long intervals of different ships. A detailed report written Debell Frederick Bennett, Caroline 1835, visited in 1840. This report was reprinted in 1935 in the Paradise of the Pacific Magazine.

Between 1865 and 1872 coconuts were grown. On 9 July 1868, the British flag was hoisted and the atoll thus incorporated into the Empire. At that time, 27 people lived on the South Island. Their livelihood was the poultry farming, pig farming and fishing. Also coconut oil was recovered and salted fish. From 1872, the island was leased for guano mining. Back then put on ships to a buoy outside the reef. Many wrecks are evidence of this period.

1883 traveled an expedition of American astronomers of Callao in Peru on Caroline Atoll aboard the ship USS Hartford to observe a total solar eclipse on May 6, 1883. An expedition of the French State Marine watched the darkness also. From the French, a map was produced and collected various animals and other objects.

Gradually reduced the population. In 1926 there were only ten inhabitants in 1936 there were only two Polynesian families. At the end of the 1930s, the island was abandoned and has since become uninhabited. It now belongs to the Republic of Kiribati and is occasionally visited by Koprasammlern. In the 1990s, the Government of Kiribati signed a contract with a French- Polynesian Company, commented that plans for the development of the atoll and a small farmstead docked.

Renaming and Millennium celebration

1994 proclaimed the Republic of Kiribati to change the time zone for the Administrative District Kiritimati ( Line Islands ) that use beginning in 1995, a time zone of UTC 14. This is the international date line within Kiribati shifted over 1000 kilometers to the east. Full Kiribati came this way with a uniform date to the Asian or western side of the International Date Line. Caroline has thus now the same time as Hawaii and Tahiti, is moderately date them but one day ahead. Due to the great general interest, to celebrate the arrival of the new millennium with the beginning of 2000, the Caroline Atoll was renamed Millennium Iceland. Teburoro Tito, President of Kiribati, initiated on the island a celebration. This was carried out jointly with native inhabitants of Kiribati and broadcast via satellite around the world. The criticism that the reorganization of the times Kiribati for the purpose of the Millennium celebration and would not be made ​​at the date of the territorially unified, was rejected by the Kiribati government.

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