Kaven (also Kaben) is a small island in the

Maloelap Atoll The Maloelap Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) (also spelled Maleolap) is a coral atoll of 71 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area is only , but that encloses a lagoon of ...

in the

Republic of 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 ...

. Situated at the northwesternmost tip of the

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 ...

, it is the largest island and one of the few inhabited ones on the atoll. Together with a few other small islands, it forms part of the "outer islands" of the Marshalls. The island is located to the east of the

Likiep Atoll Likiep Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 65 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is approximately northwest of Wotje. Its total land area is only , but that enclo ...

, between Jeltonet in the southwest and Anejaej in the northwest. The southwesternmost tip of the island is called Anenemmwaan also. The region is uninhabited.

Geography

Kaben is a small island, no more than 2.5 kilometers long and a kilometer across. The island has around in area. It is almost rectangularly-shaped, with a slight hooklike protuberance on the northeastern region of the island. Kaben is lightly inhabited, having had a few man-made structures erected along its southeast coast.

History

Historically, the island has been claimed by the ''

Iroij Iroijlaplap ( Marshallese: ; feminine: Leroijlaplap, ) are the traditional paramount chiefs in the Marshall Islands. Ordinary chiefs bear the title of Iroij (feminine: Leroij); -' is a superlative suffix. Legal basis Article III of the Const ...

'', royalty of the islands, as their personal property prohibiting peasant islanders from fishing the island's waters. Fishing by local islanders only resumed when an official government for the islands was formed and fishing was officially declared permissible. As the largest island in the atoll, ''Iroij'' coronation events have traditionally taken place on Kaben. The island has several myths and legends surrounding it and its remote waters.

Fauna

The fauna of the island is similar to that of the other islands in the Marshalls. Terrestrial fauna is limited to small

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...

s such as the hermit crabs ''

Coenobita :''The junior homonym ''Coenobita'' Gistl, 1848 is now the moth genus '' Ectropis''. The genus ''Coenobita'' contains 17 species of terrestrial hermit crabs. Several species in this genus are kept as pets. Ecology ''Coenobita'' species carry wa ...

'' and land crabs from the family

Gecarcinidae The Gecarcinidae, the land crabs, are a family of true crabs that are adapted for terrestrial existence. Similar to all other crabs, land crabs possess a series of gills. In addition, the part of the carapace covering the gills is inflated and e ...

. Historically, the island has been cited as the home for a large population of edible

coconut crab The coconut crab (''Birgus latro'') is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world, with a weight of up to . It can grow to up to in width from the tip ...

Airport

The Kaven island has an airport, Kaben Airport . However, airport is a misnomer. It is a simple

airstrip An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

without any major airport facilities. A 2000 Technical Assistance Report by the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field offic ...

suggested that, for infrastructure development, the runways of several airstrips throughout the Marshall Islands, including the one on Kaven, be rehabilitated. This rehabilitation was suggested to include de-forestation of the vegetation surrounding the airstrip and the construction of adequate aero-navigational facilities. Not to be confused: On the main Likiep Atoll is an even larger

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

, too.

References

Bibliography

Trip report to Kaven on water quality
* {{authority control Maloelap Atoll Airports in the Marshall Islands Islands of the Marshall Islands