The approximately 39 small islets of Caroline Island, a crescent-shaped atoll located some south of the Hawaiian Islands 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 ...

, surround a shallow central lagoon.

Caroline Island Caroline Island (also known as Caroline Atoll or Millennium Island) is the easternmost of several uninhabited coral atolls comprising the southern Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean nation of Kiribati. The atoll was first sighted by Eu ...

's islets, which only rise a few meters above sea level, share a common geologic origin and consist of sand deposits and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

rock set atop a

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

. Three large islets — Nake, Long, and South Islets — make up 68 percent of the land area. The remaining assembly of small islets, divided into four groupings, was surveyed during a 1988 ecological survey, conducted by Angela and Cameron Kepler; at that time, many of the thus-far-unnamed islets were given names of Polynesian derivation. Several of the smallest islets have been observed to appear or disappear entirely following major storms, and the shapes of some larger islets have changed significantly over the past century. Flora, the most distinguishing feature of each islet, varies as a function of both islet size and prior human habitation. Larger islets support inward zones of shrub, primarily ''

Tournefortia argentea ''Heliotropium arboreum'' is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It is native to tropical Asia including southern China, Madagascar, northern Australia, and most of the atolls and high islands of Micronesia and Polyn ...

'', and the largest possess a central forested region usually dominated by groves of ''

Pisonia grandis ''Pisonia grandis'', the grand devil's-claws, is a species of flowering tree in the ''Bougainvillea'' family, Nyctaginaceae. Description The tree has broad, thin leaves, smooth bark and bears clusters of green sweet-smelling flowers that matu ...

'' trees. Artifacts, including wells, homesites, and

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

, on several islets, speak to prior human habitation, as do stands of non-indigenous '' Cocos'' palms; however, many islets have little or no evidence of human influence, despite past disturbance. __TOC__

List of islet groups and single islets

Map of Millennium Island (Caroline Atoll), Kiribati

List of islets

Details of islets

References

* (Text of "Caroline Island" chapter online at: ) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Islets Of Caroline Island, List Of Caroline Island

Kiribati geography-related lists

List of islet groups and single islets

List of islets

Details of islets

See also

References