Chelbacheb Islands

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chelbacheb Islands
Palau-rock-islands20071222.jpg
Waters Pacific Ocean
archipelago Palau Islands
Geographical location 7 ° 10 ′  N , 134 ° 18 ′  E Coordinates: 7 ° 10 ′  N , 134 ° 18 ′  E
Chelbacheb Islands (Palau)
Chelbacheb Islands
Number of islands over 200
Total land area 47 km²
Residents uninhabited

The Rock Islands , also known as Rock Islands of Palau known, one in the Western Pacific lying and island republic of Palau counting archipelago in the center of the Palau Islands . The area stretches from the southwest coast of the island of Koror about 40 kilometers as the crow flies to the northeast coast of the island of Peleliu and is bordered on both long sides by a dense coral reef .

geology

Undermined island

The Rock Islands , which "grew" high out of the reef , are small, twisted or tiny circular islets that protrude from the sea like lush mushroom heads. The limestone islands are partially submerged or hollowed out, which led to unique island shapes or cave formations ( cone karst ). Brackish water lakes can also be found on the somewhat larger islands ; one of the most famous of these is the jellyfish lake on the island of Eil Malk .

geography

The archipelago consists of a large lagoon with four main groups of islands and an oval fringing reef that almost completely surrounds the lagoon; the reef is of course only interrupted towards the island of Koror. The “ German Channel ” in the south-western outer reef is an artificial breakthrough . During the colonization of Palau by the German Empire , a narrow canal was blasted into the coral reef to enable a direct ship connection from the phosphate mines on Angaur to the port of Koror.

The Chelbacheb Islands include between 200 and 300 islands, not one of which is permanently inhabited. They can be roughly divided into four main groups:

There are also some smaller archipelagos in the southwest and south of the archipelago, such as:

In addition, there are countless scattered islands that cannot be directly assigned to a main or subgroup. The total area of ​​all land areas of the Rock Islands is estimated to be 70 km².

Tourism and nature protection

Aerial view of some of the rock islands

The winding island area and its underwater world are a popular holiday destination for scuba divers and kayakers from all over the world. The Rock Islands are, however, also a maritime nature reserve which, in order to preserve nature above and under water, may only be accessed or walked at certain points. On June 29, 2012, the islands and the lagoon surrounding them were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ International Union for Conservation of Nature: Palau wins World Heritage Status (English)

Web links

Commons : Rock Islands  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files