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Kiritimati Atoll, Kiribati |
Kiritimati Atoll is a coral island or atoll in the Pacific Ocean. This island, which is included in the Kiribati region, is the atoll with the largest landmass in the world.
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Line Islands, Kiribati |
Kiritimati Atoll is the island with the largest population in the Northern Line Islands region, Kiribati. The Line Islands are an area in the country of Kiribati in the form of a series of 11 atolls that stretch 2,350 km from northwest to southeast. The 11 atolls were formed from volcanic activity. The Line Islands, also known as the Equator Islands, or the Teraina Islands, are one of the longest island chains in the world.
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Kiritimati |
Line Islands are divided into 3 groups or subgroups, namely; Northern Line Islands, Central Line Islands, and Southern Line Islands. Kiritimati is the largest atoll in the Line Islands, as well as the atoll with the largest landmass in the world. Kiritimati Atoll covers 70% of Kiribati's total land area. It has an area of 388.39 km², with a lagoon measuring about 320 km² in the middle. Surrounding it are small coral islands covering an area of 150 km², surrounding a lagoon with a coastline of 48 km.
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Kiritimati |
An atoll is a coral island that surrounds a lagoon, either in whole or in part. Besides Kiritimati Island which is the main island, there are several smaller islands that are part of the atoll, such as; Motu Upoa, Motu Tabu, Ngaontetaake, and Cook Island. Cook Island, although part of the Kiritimati Atoll, is not connected to the Kiritimati mainland.
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London village, Kiritimati |
There are 5 villages on this island, namely Tabwakea Village, London, Banana, Poland, and Paris. Four of the villages are inhabited, however, the Village of Paris has been abandoned by its inhabitants. Tabwakea, Banana, and London, are the 3 main villages with the largest populations in Kiritimati. These three villages are located on the northern tip of the island, while Poland Village is located in the southern part of the island. There are more than 7,000 people living in villages in Kiritimati. Tabwakea is the village with the largest population.
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Kiritimati or Christmas Island beaches |
The island of Kiritimati has a dry climate with low rainfall, with a severe dry season, during which the ponds dry up. Rainfall there averages 873 mm per year, but during the rainy season, namely March - April, it can reach 2,500 mm.
Kiritimati Island, also known as Christmas Island, is located south of Honolulu, Hawaii, about 232 km from the equator. This atoll with the largest landmass in the world is located in the most distant time zone in the world, which is UTC + 14. That means Kiritimati is one of the earliest areas to celebrate every new year or new year.
Kiritimati's landmass is mostly low grass and scrub. Several types of trees grow there, such as heliotrope and cedar trees. In addition there are also oil palm plantations.
There are more than 35 species of birds living in Kiritimati, such as the red-tailed tropical bird, black noddy, little white tern (a type of sea bird), central pacific sooty tern, spectacled tern, central blu-grey noddy, phoenix petrel, indopacific lesser frigatebird, great frigatebird, and others.