Beru is an

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

in the Southern

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...

in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, part of the

Republic of Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

. Beru was previously known as Eliza, Francis Island, Maria, Peroat, Peru Island or Sunday. It's part of a larger reef with the Nuka Lagoon at its center, and the nearest island is

Nikunau Nikunau is a low coral atoll in the Gilbert Islands that forms a council district of the Republic of Kiribati. It consists of two parts, with the larger in the northwest, joined by an isthmus about wide. There are several landlocked hypersaline ...

. The Tabiang Lagoon is present in the north. Beru is home to 2,051 inhabitants (2015 census). Due to sea surges, the atoll is experiencing

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...

along with damages to

seawalls A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...

Etymology

Beru means

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

Gilbertese Gilbertese or taetae ni Kiribati, also Kiribati (sometimes ''Kiribatese''), is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Kiribati. It belongs to the Micronesian branch of the Oceanic languages. The word ''Kiribati'', the current name of the i ...

and its pronunciation is similar to Peru, with a P (there is no P sound in Gilbertese).

Geography

Beru is part of a larger

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

, some long (NW-SE) and wide at the widest point (NE-SW). The center of the reef is a shallow depression called Nuka Lagoon. The land mass occupies fully a third or more of the shallow reef structure and is positioned mostly towards the northeast edge of the reef. In maximum dimension the islet is long, and varies in width between and . Extensive spit development has created the nearly enclosed Tabiang Lagoon at the north end where

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

are present. A small lagoon or barachois at the northern tip is surrounded by man-made fishponds to hold

Milkfish The milkfish (''Chanos chanos'') is the sole living species in the family Chanidae. However, there are at least five extinct genera from the Cretaceous. The repeating scientific name (tautonym) is from Greek ( ‘mouth’). The species has many ...

, as is a similar feature at the south end of the islet. A long

barachois A barachois is a term used in Atlantic Canada, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Réunion and Mauritius Island to describe a coastal lagoon partially or totally separated from the ocean by a sand or shingle bar. Sometimes the bar is constructed of boul ...

with extensive mangroves occupies the interior south of Nuka Lagoon. A causeway is present across the inlet mouth and a landing strip is present on the interior flats. The Nuka Lagoon, has a broad passage entering it. The island is east of

Tabiteuea Tabiteuea (formerly Drummond's Island) is an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, farther south of Tarawa. This atoll is the bigger and the most populated of the Gilbert Islands but Tarawa. The atoll consists of one main island, in the nor ...

Atoll and southeast of

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...

(1°20' S latitude). The closest island to Beru is the island of Nikunau. The island is served by

Beru Island Airport Beru Airport is the airport serving Beru Island. The island is located in the Kingsmill Group of the South Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean and is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The airport is located in the south of the island and is ...

Settlements

* Nuka *Rongorongo * Tabukiniberu * Teteirio

Environmental issues

The windward side of the atoll is experiencing coastal erosion due to wave action. The Leeward side of the atoll has the shallow lagoon, which the islanders have experienced becoming shallower that is linked to mud-sand accretion that is thought to be the result of the causeways. The construction of causeways has been thought to change the currents in the lagoon and along the shoreline. Frequent and stronger sea surges are damaging the seawalls that have been constructed by the islanders. Aggregate mining and the removal of coral boulders is exacerbating erosion.

Myths and legends

There are different stories told as to the

creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing * Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it * Creationism, the belief tha ...

of Beru and the other islands in the Southern Gilberts. An important legend in the culture of Beru is that spirits who lived in a tree in Samoa migrated northward carrying branches from the tree ''Te Kaintikuaba (''the tree of life). It was these spirits, together with Nareau the Wise, who created the islands of Tungaru (the Gilbert Islands).

History

Beru Post Office opened around 1911.

Education

The island has the one Christian senior high school,

Hiram Bingham High School Hiram Bingham High School (HBHS) is a secondary school in Rongorongo, Beru Island, Kiribati, serving forms 1-7.Part 2 of 4
''Strengthening Decentralized Governance in Kiribati Project '',

Ministry of Internal and Social Affairs (Kiribati) Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

. p. 48 (PDF p. 13/15)
Part 1 is here

Notes

References

from the Navy Art Gallery {{authority control Gilbert Islands Islands of Kiribati