Majuro Atoll

This article is about an atoll in the Marshall Islands. For the capital of the island state see Majuro .

Majuro Atoll
NASA satellite image of Majuro
Waters	Pacific Ocean
archipelago	Marshall Islands
Geographical location	7 ° 4 ′  N , 171 ° 16 ′  E Coordinates: 7 ° 4 ′  N , 171 ° 16 ′  E
Number of islands	64
Main island	Darrit
length	40.3 km
width	11.1 km
Land area	9.71 km²
Lagoon area	295.05 km²
total area	383 km²
Residents	27,797 (2011)
Map of the Majuro Atoll

Beach on Majuro

German map from 1881

The Majuro Atoll ( Marshallese Mājro , formerly Arrowsmith ) is an atoll of the Marshall Islands . On it lies Majuro , the capital of the Pacific republic of the Marshall Islands.

geography

The atoll has 64 small motus (reef islands), almost a third of which are inhabited. 20 individual places or inhabited islands are identified. The Marshal capital Majuro encompasses the entire atoll. The government buildings and embassies are concentrated on the islands of Delap , Uliga and Darrit in the east. For statistical purposes this densely populated area is called Delap-Uliga-Darrit or Rita (name variant of Darrit). The land area of ​​the atoll is 9.71 km², while the lagoon extends over 295.05 km².

The northern part of the atoll ring has larger gaps. In the northwest is the Enyagin Group with the main islands Rongrong and Jelte. In the northeast are the islands of the former Aeankan district west of Darrit .

Intensive agriculture is also practiced on the southern islands of the atoll, mainly taro , sweet potatoes and fruit are grown. On the small northern atoll islands there are isolated coconut plantations for copra production .

To the west is the Motu Laura .

Infrastructure

Municipal infrastructure

The Majuro water and wastewater company receives water from several collecting basins directly in the catchment area of ​​the airport. In this way they provide 530 million liters of water per year, but this is only available to the population for 12 hours a day. In general, the Marshall Islands have to deal with frequent water shortages.

transport

The Marshall Islands Airport is located on the southern Motu Rairok , which is west of Delap .

population

At the last census on June 1, 1999, the atoll had 23,676 inhabitants. By 2011, the population had only increased slightly to around 27,797.

Population development

At the time of German colonial rule, Majuro had 1,600 inhabitants (out of a total of 15,000 in the Marshall Islands). The population of the atoll has increased sharply since 1958:

1930	1958	1967	1973	1980	1988	1999	2011
753	779	3,415	5,249	10,290	11,791	19,664	23,676	27,797

history

Houses on Majuro

From 1885 to 1919, the Majuro Atoll, like the surrounding Marshall Islands, was part of the German South Sea holdings . The German colonial encyclopedia names the rich stock of coconut palms and breadfruit trees. After the First World War , the atoll was part of the Japanese South Seas mandate . On January 30, 1944, it was liberated from the Japanese by American troops.

Attractions

The Outrigger National Cup, the world's only outrigger canoe race, takes place in the Majuro lagoon .

Sports

The only stadium in the country, the Sports Stadium, stands on the atoll .

literature

• Names Of Islands Of Majuro Atoll . (List and map of 65 partly former islands in the Majuro Atoll; Textarchiv - Internet Archive )

Web links

• Picture and short description ( memento from December 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
• Photos from the Second World War (English)
• History, maps and pictures of the atoll

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Population statistics ( memento of the original dated December 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ majuromok.tripod.com
3. ↑ Peter Mellgard: Perishing Of Thirst In A Pacific Paradise in The World Post of December 28, 2015
4. ↑ ^{a b} Statoids
5. ^ Marshall Islands . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 17 : Lord Chamberlain - Mecklenburg . London 1911, p. 773 (English, full text [ Wikisource ] - therein the atoll is called Majeru ).
6. ↑ spc.int
7. ^ ON: Majuro, in: Heinrich Schnee (Hrsg.): Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon Volume II, Leipzig 1920, p. 480.