Utirik Atoll or Utrik Atoll ( Marshallese: , Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index
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coral atoll Corals are marine invertebrates within the class (biology), class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important C ...

of 10 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain 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 Internati ...

. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon with an area of . It is located approximately east of Ujae Atoll. The population of Utirik Atoll is 300-400 as of 2020. it is one of the northernmost Marshall Islands with permanent habitation. The larger islets are: * Utirik () * Aon () * Bikrak () * Pike () * Āllok () * Nalap ()

History

Historical artifacts have been unearthed on the Atoll which date back to ca. 380 C.E., including tools likely used by early Micronesian peoples. Its first recorded sighting was by the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Saavedra on board the ship ''Florida'' on 29 December 1527. Together with

Rongelap Rongelap Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 61 islands (or motus) in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is . It encloses a lagoon with an area of . ...

, Ailinginae and Toke atolls, they were charted as ''Islas de los Reyes'' (Islands of the Three Wise Kings in Spanish) due to the proximity of

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...

. Utirik Atoll was claimed by the

Empire of Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884. After World War I, the island came under the

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the "South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following Wo ...

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 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

. Following the end of World War II, Utirik came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Utirik was one of four atolls affected by nuclear fallout from Castle Bravo, the largest of the many

nuclear weapon tests Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

conducted at Bikini Atoll immediately following World War II. Research is still being done to ascertain the radiation levels, though many scientists agree that there is no harmful effect from the radiation still present. The island has been part of the independent Republic of the Marshall Islands since 1986.

Education

Marshall Islands Public School System Republic of Marshall Islands Public School System (PSS) is the public school system of the Marshall Islands, headquartered in Majuro. It was established in November 2013 by Public Law 2013-23. It is a part of the Ministry of Education, Sports and ...

operates Utrik Elementary School.

Northern Islands High School Northern Islands High School (NIHS) is a secondary school in Wotje, Marshall Islands. It is a part of the Marshall Islands Public School System. The school serves the following atolls and islands in the north of the country: Wotje, Ailuk, Aur, ...

Wotje Wotje Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 75 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Geography Wotje's land area of is one of the largest in the Marshall Islands, and en ...

serves the community.Annual Report 2011-2012
" Ministry of Education (Marshall Islands). Retrieved on February 22, 2018. p. 54 (PDF p. 55/118). "Northern Islands High School takes students from the Ratak Ean zone including schools in Aur, Maloelap, Wotje, Ailuk, Utrik, Likiep and Mejit."

Temperature record

On 24 August 2016, Utirik Atoll recorded a temperature of , which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in the Marshall Islands.

References

External links

Marshall Islands site
*
Video: Glimpse of Utrik Atoll
Atolls of the Marshall Islands Ratak Chain Municipalities of the Marshall Islands {{Marshalls-geo-stub

History

Education

Temperature record

See also

References

External links