Minto Reef is a largely submerged

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 ...

belonging to

Pohnpei Pohnpei "upon (''pohn'') a stone altar (''pei'')" (formerly known as Ponape or Ascension, Proto-Chuukic-Pohnpeic: ''*Fawo ni pei)'' is an island of the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group. It belongs to Pohnpei ...

State in

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

Description

Minto Reef encloses a

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'') a ...

of about 25 to 30 km² in area. There are several boat passages into the lagoon on the southern side. It is at the same time the westernmost and northernmost feature of Pohnpei State. The nearest land is

Oroluk Atoll Oroluk Atoll is an atoll belonging to Pohnpei State in the Micronesia. Description Oroluk Atoll stretches from the northwest to the southeast with a length of about and an average width of . The lagoon's surface is roughly . The more than 25 sa ...

93 km to the southeast. Close to the northern extremity of the atoll there is a sandbank, about 1.8 meters high. Minto Reef is the site of ''Minto Reef Marina Area of Biodiversity Significance'', with a total area of 4,204.2 ha.

Administration

Minto Reef is part of

Oroluk Oroluk waas one of the administrative divisions of Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia. In 1985, it became part of Sokehs Municipality. Description Oroluk municipality included Oroluk Atoll and Minto Reef. This municipality is uninh ...

municipality, along with Oroluk Atoll. The State of Pohnpei in 1999 created the ''Minto Reef Marine Sanctuary''.

References

Atolls of the Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei {{Micronesia-geo-stub