![Chuuk islands (satellite)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Chuuk_islands_%28satellite%29.JPG)
Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, 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 central
Pacific
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 contine ...
. It lies about northeast of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
, and is part of
Chuuk State within the
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...
(FSM). A protective reef, around, encloses a natural harbour , with an area of . It has a land area of , with a population of 36,158 people and a maximal elevation of .
Weno
Weno, formerly Moen, is an island municipality of Chuuk State of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). It is the largest town in the FSM. It has an estimated area of 20 square kilometers.
Population
The population was 13,856 at the census ...
city on Moen Island functions as the atoll's capital and also as the state capital and is the largest city in the FSM with its 13,700 people.
Chuuk Lagoon was the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...
's main naval base in the
South Pacific theatre during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. It was the site of a major U.S. attack during
Operation Hailstone
Operation Hailstone ( ja, トラック島空襲, Torakku-tō Kūshū, lit=airstrike on Truk Island), 17–18 February 1944, was a massive United States Navy air and surface attack on Truk Lagoon conducted as part of the American offensive drive ...
in February 1944, and
Operation Inmate, a small assault conducted by British and Canadian forces during June 1945.
Name
Chuuk means ''mountain'' in the
Chuukese language
Chuukese , also rendered Trukese , is a Chuukic language of the Austronesian language family spoken primarily on the islands of Chuuk in the Caroline Islands in Micronesia. There are communities of speakers on Pohnpei, Guam, and the Hawaiian I ...
. The lagoon was known mainly as Truk (a mispronunciation of Ruk), until 1990. Other names included Hogoleu, Torres, Ugulat, and Lugulus.
Geography
Chuuk Lagoon is part of the larger
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the ce ...
group. The area consists of eleven major islands (corresponding to the eleven municipalities of Truk lagoon, which are
Tol,
Udot
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is an agency of the state government of Utah, United States; it is usually referred to by its initials UDOT (pronounced "you-dot"). UDOT is charged with maintaining the more than of roadway that co ...
, Fala-Beguets, Romanum, and Eot of
Faichuk Faichuk (also Faichuuk, Tol, or the Western Islands) are a group of four islands separated from one another by narrow canals in the western part of Truk Lagoon, Chuuk, Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of a ...
group, and
Weno
Weno, formerly Moen, is an island municipality of Chuuk State of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). It is the largest town in the FSM. It has an estimated area of 20 square kilometers.
Population
The population was 13,856 at the census ...
,
Fefen
Fefan is the third largest inhabited island of the Chuuk Lagoon in the Federated States of Micronesia. It has an area of 13.2 km2 and a population of about 3,000 (last census: 1980). The northern part of the island is hilly and peaks at 298 m ...
,
Dublon Tonowas (or Tonoas), also known by its Spanish name of Dublon, is an island in the Chuuk (formerly Truk) lagoon, Federated States of Micronesia. It has an area of 8.8 km2 and the population was 3,200 at the time of the last census (1980). A na ...
,
Uman
Uman ( uk, Умань, ; pl, Humań; yi, אומאַן) is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the historical region of the eastern Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River ...
, Param, and Tsis of
Namoneas group) and forty-six smaller ones within the lagoon, plus forty-one on the fringing coral reef, and is known today as the Chuuk islands, part of the
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...
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 contin ...
.
Table of main islands
This is the following list of islands, villages and population following the 2010 census:
Climate
History
Prehistory
It is not known when the islands of Chuuk were first settled, but archaeological evidence indicates that islands of Feefen and Wééné Islands had human settlements in the first and second century BC. Later evidence indicates that widespread human settlements appeared in Chuuk during the 14th century AD.
Colonialism
The first recorded sighting by Europeans was made by Spanish navigator
Álvaro de Saavedra on board of the ship ''Florida'' during August or September 1528. They were later visited by Spaniard
Alonso de Arellano
Alonso de Arellano was a 16th-century Spanish explorer who commanded one ship that was part of the fleet that re-discovered the Philippines after the Magellan and López de Villalobos expeditions.
Biography
Arellano was captain of the ''San Luca ...
on 15 January 1565 on board of galleon patache ''San Lucas''.
As part of the
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the ce ...
, Truk was claimed by the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
, which made an effort to control the islands in the late 19th century. Chuuk lagoon was then inhabited by several tribes that engaged in intermittent warfare, as well as a small population of foreign traders and missionaries. Spanish control over the islands was nominal. The Spaniards stopped to raise a flag over Chuuk in 1886, and returned in 1895 as part of an attempt to assert control and negotiate peace between warring Chuukese tribes. No permanent Spanish settlement was ever established, and tribal violence continued until the German colonial era.
The Caroline Islands were sold to the
German Empire in 1899, after Spain withdrew from the Pacific in the aftermath of the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (cloc ...
.
During the First World War, The Japanese Navy was tasked with pursuing and destroying the
German East Asiatic Squadron
The German East Asia Squadron (german: Kreuzergeschwader / Ostasiengeschwader) was an Imperial German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the mid-1890s until 1914, when it was destroyed at the Battle of the F ...
and protection of the shipping lanes for
Allied commerce in the Pacific and
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
s. During the course of this operation, the Japanese Navy seized the German possessions in the
Marianas,
Carolines,
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...
and
Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...
groups by October 1914. Chuuk then became a possession of the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...
under a mandate from the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
following
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
's defeat in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
World War II
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Truk Lagoon was the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...
's main base in the
South Pacific theatre. Truk was a heavily fortified base for Japanese operations against Allied forces in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
and the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
, serving as the forward
anchorage for the
Japanese Imperial Fleet.
Truk Lagoon was considered the most formidable of all Japanese strongholds in the Pacific. On the various islands, the Japanese Civil Engineering Department and Naval Construction Department had built roads, trenches, bunkers and caves. Five airstrips, seaplane bases, a torpedo boat station, submarine repair shops, a communications center and a
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
station were constructed during the war. Protecting these various facilities were coastal defense guns and mortar emplacements. The Japanese
garrison consisted of 27,856
IJN men, under the command of
Vice Admiral Masami Kobayashi, then
Vice Admiral Chuichi Hara, and 16,737
IJA men, under the command of
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Kanenobu Ishuin. Due to its heavy fortifications, both natural and manmade, the base at Truk was known to Allied forces as "the
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
of the Pacific".
A significant portion of the
Japanese fleet was based at Truk, with its administrative center on Tonoas (south of Weno). At anchor in the
lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...
, were the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...
's
battleships,
aircraft carriers,
cruisers,
destroyers,
tankers
Tanker may refer to:
Transportation
* Tanker, a tank crewman (US)
* Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids
** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk
** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tank ...
,
cargo ships,
tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
s,
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-ste ...
s,
minesweepers
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
,
landing craft, and
submarines. In particular; ''
Yamato
was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan.
Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan.
Japanese his ...
'' and ''
Musashi'' were stationed at Truk for months around 1943, unable to participate in battle. Some have described Truk as Japan's equivalent of the Americans'
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
.
In 1944, Truk's capacity as a
naval base
A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that u ...
was destroyed through naval air attack in
Operation Hailstone
Operation Hailstone ( ja, トラック島空襲, Torakku-tō Kūshū, lit=airstrike on Truk Island), 17–18 February 1944, was a massive United States Navy air and surface attack on Truk Lagoon conducted as part of the American offensive drive ...
. Forewarned by intelligence a week before the US raid, the Japanese had withdrawn their larger warships (heavy cruisers and aircraft carriers) to
Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...
. Once the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
forces captured the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...
, they used them as a base from which to launch an early morning attack on February 17, 1944 against Truk Lagoon.
Operation Hailstone
Operation Hailstone ( ja, トラック島空襲, Torakku-tō Kūshū, lit=airstrike on Truk Island), 17–18 February 1944, was a massive United States Navy air and surface attack on Truk Lagoon conducted as part of the American offensive drive ...
lasted for three days, as American carrier-based planes sank twelve smaller Japanese
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...
s (light cruisers, destroyers, and auxiliaries) and thirty-two merchant ships, while destroying 275 aircraft, mainly on the ground. The consequences of the attack made "Truk lagoon the biggest graveyard of ships in the world".
The attacks for the most part ended Truk as a major threat to Allied operations in the central Pacific. The Japanese garrison on
Eniwetok
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...
was denied any realistic hope of
reinforcement
In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher fr ...
and support during the invasion that began on February 18, 1944, greatly assisting U.S. forces in their conquest of that island. Truk was isolated by Allied forces, as they continued their advance towards Japan, by invading other Pacific islands, such as Guam, Saipan, Palau, and Iwo Jima. It was attacked again from 12 to 16 June 1945 by part of the
British Pacific Fleet
The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships o ...
during
Operation Inmate. Cut off, the Japanese forces on Truk and other central Pacific islands ran low on food and faced starvation before Japan surrendered in August 1945.
Recreational diving
![Truk Lagoon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Truk_Lagoon.png)
In 1969, William A. Brown and
French oceanographer
Jacques Cousteau and his team explored Truk Lagoon. Following Cousteau's 1971 television documentary about the lagoon and its ghostly remains, the atoll became a
scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...
lure, drawing
wreck diving
Wreck diving is recreational diving where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificia ...
enthusiasts from around the world to see its numerous, virtually intact sunken ships. The shipwrecks and remains are sometimes referred to as the "Ghost Fleet of Truk Lagoon". Scattered mainly around the
Dublon Tonowas (or Tonoas), also known by its Spanish name of Dublon, is an island in the Chuuk (formerly Truk) lagoon, Federated States of Micronesia. It has an area of 8.8 km2 and the population was 3,200 at the time of the last census (1980). A na ...
,
Eten,
Fefan and
Uman
Uman ( uk, Умань, ; pl, Humań; yi, אומאַן) is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the historical region of the eastern Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River ...
islands within the Truk group, a number of the shipwrecks lie in crystal clear waters less than below the surface. In waters devoid of normal ocean currents, divers can easily swim across decks littered with gas masks and depth charges and below deck can be found evidence of human remains. In the massive ships' holds are the remnants of
fighter aircraft,
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...
s,
bulldozers,
railroad cars,
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
s,
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
es, mines,
bombs, boxes of
munitions
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
,
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
s, plus thousands of other weapons, spare parts, and other artifacts. Of special interest is the wreck of the submarine ''
I-169 Shinohara'' which was lost when diving to avoid the bombing. The submarine had participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
The coral encrusted wrecks attract a diverse array of marine life, including
manta rays,
turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...
s,
shark
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...
s and
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...
s. In 2007, 266 species of reef fish were recorded by an
Earthwatch team and in 2006 the rare coral ''
Acropora pichoni
''Acropora'' is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. ''Acropora'' species are some of the major reef corals ...
'' was identified.
On 12 April 2011, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) program
Foreign Correspondent screened a report on Chuuk Lagoon likening the effect of the impending massive release of tens of thousands of tonnes of oil from the rusting Japanese warships into the coral reef to that of the
Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. However, given the poor state of the Japanese war effort in 1944, many of the ships may have had relatively small amounts of fuel in their bunkers. Environmental protection organizations are surveying the wrecks while also consulting with Japanese researchers to try to determine how much oil is likely to be in the hulks, particularly in three sunken oil tankers.
The ships are classified as a Japanese war grave, requiring Japanese government involvement in the eventual clean-up.
List of wrecks.
Economy and infrastructure
![ChuukAirport](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/ChuukAirport.jpg)
Most of the roads and transportation systems are poor or in disrepair; an extensive infrastructural redevelopment plan has begun. It consists of a five-phase project to completely reconstruct the existing sewer, water and storm drainage systems as well as pour 10" concrete roadways in the majority of the villages of Weno. Final contractual bidding was complete in late 2008 and construction began in June 2009. Completion of Phase 1, which extends from the Chuuk International Airport through downtown into Mwan Village and encompassing the roadways to the financial center, hospital, governmental center and projected site of the College of Micronesia is slated for completion by 2012*. (*Updates needed as of 3-29-2021) Surveying for Phase 2, which extends from Mwan Village to Wiichap is underway.
The cost for a taxi ranges between a dollar ($1) to two dollars ($2) depending on the distance traveled. Presently, a drive from the airport to the Blue Lagoon resort and dive shop could take up to 35 minutes to complete, although the distance is less than 5 miles.
Chuuk International Airport (
IATA airport code TKK) is on the administrative island of Moen. It is served by
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. , formerly
Continental Micronesia
Continental Micronesia, Inc. (CMI) was a company which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines. It operated daily flights to Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as international services to Asia, Micronesia and Australia from its base of ...
, locally known as Air Mike.
The government of the state operates a
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...
. Interisland communication is often accomplished using
citizens' band radio. Telephone services are limited on Chuuk, though a cellular network is established within some islands of the lagoon and in the near future on the outer islands. High speed Internet access via ADSL has been made available on a monthly subscription basis on the Island of Moen from May 2010.
Tourism, especially
scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...
among the many wrecks of Truk Lagoon, is the island's main industry with live-aboard dives amongst the most popular ways to see the hundreds of wrecks located in the shallow waters of the lagoon.
Copra
Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from co ...
, dried
coconut meat, is the only cash crop and output is relatively insignificant. Most of the inhabitants of outlying islands engage in
subsistence activity only.
File:1849 aquaimages.jpg, Mitsubishi "Betty" bomber
File:Bow gun of the Fujikawa Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.jpg, Bow gun of the ''Fujikawa Maru''
File:Toyota KB Sunken in Micronesia - 1856 aquaimages.jpg, 1940's truck in the hold of the ''Hoki Maru''
File:Japanese 2-man tankette on the deck of the Nippo Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.jpg, 2-man tank on the deck of the ''Nippo Maru''
File:Light artillery piece on the deck of the Nippo Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.jpg, Light artillery piece on the deck of the ''Nippo Maru''
File:Divers next to the mast of the Unkai Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.jpg, Divers next to the mast of the ''Unkai Maru''
File:Diver photographing artillery shells in hold of the Yamagiri Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.jpg, Diver photographing 14-inch artillery shells in the ''Yamagiri Maru''
File:Diver and soft corals next to the mast of the Hoki Maru wreck, Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.jpg, Diver and soft corals next to the mast of the ''Hoki Maru''
See also
*
*
US Naval Base Carolines
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
''Shipwrecks of Chuuk Lagoon''Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel ItineraryABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
Foreign Correspondent
{{Authority control
Chuuk State
Bodies of water of the Federated States of Micronesia
World War II sites in the Federated States of Micronesia
Wreck diving sites
Underwater diving sites in Micronesia
Lagoons of Oceania
National Register of Historic Places in the Federated States of Micronesia
World War II on the National Register of Historic Places
National Historic Landmarks in the Federated States of Micronesia