Manra

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Manra
Map of Manra
Map of Manra
Waters Pacific Ocean
Archipelago Phoenix Islands
Geographical location 4 ° 27 '15 "  S , 171 ° 14' 45"  W Coordinates: 4 ° 27 '15 "  S , 171 ° 14' 45"  W.
Manra (Kiribati)
Manra
length 3.2 km
width 2.8 km
surface 4.4 km²
Residents uninhabited
Map of the Phoenix Islands, Manra in the east
Map of the Phoenix Islands, Manra in the east

Manra ( English Manra Island , formerly Sydney Island ) is the southeasternmost atoll of the Kiribati Phoenix Islands . It is located in the Pacific Ocean , about 490 km south of the equator . The lagoon has no access to the sea and forms a highly salty lake, the water level of which is slightly lower than that of the surrounding sea. There are numerous small sand islands ( motus ) on this lake .

Manra was discovered in 1823 by the London whaling ship Sydney Packet , T. Emmett Master, and named Sydney .

The island (including the lagoon) about 4.5 km² was only inhabited between 1938 and 1963. At that time it was the destination of a resettlement program initiated by the British colonialists, the so-called " Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme ", in order to cope with the overpopulation on the northwestern Gilbert Islands . Two villages were created called Mauta and Ona. After the failure of the project, however, the settlers gradually left the three affected islands of Manra (Sydney), Nikumaroro and Orona (Hull).

Today the islands are uninhabited, but serve as breeding grounds for numerous sea ​​birds ; Manra has been an official nature reserve since 1975 .

  • gallery

  • The inner lagoon of Manra

  • NASA image of the Manra Atoll

  • Dense Scaevola growth on Manra

literature

  • Maude, Henry Evans: Of islands and men: studies in Pacific history; Melbourne [u. a.]: Oxford Univ. Pr., 1968
  • Jones, AGE: Ships employed in the South Seas trade Vol. 1: 1775-1861; Canberra 1986 & Vol. 2: 1775-1859; Burwood, Vic. [1992]

Web links