Erikub Atoll (
Marshallese: , ) is an uninhabited
coral atoll of fourteen islands in the Pacific Ocean, located in the
Ratak Chain of the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The territory consists of 29 c ...
. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon with an area of . It is located slightly south of
Wotje.
History
The first recorded sighting of Erikub Atoll by Europeans was on 29 June 1566 by the Spanish
galleon
Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal.
They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...
''San Jerónimo'' then commanded by pilot
Lope Martín. However, it is likely that it had already been previously sighted by the Spanish expedition of
Ruy López de Villalobos between December 1542 and January 1543.
Lope Martín, who had been pilot of the
patache ''San Lucas'' on its voyage from
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
to the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
the previous year, had on this occasion mutinied with a gang of twenty six sailors and soldiers and murdered the ''San Jerónimo's'' captain,
Pero Sánchez Pericón. The conspirators, including Martín, were later marooned on the
Namonuito Atoll
Namonuito Atoll, also called Namonweito, Weito, or Magur Islands, is the largest atoll of the Federated States of Micronesia and of the Caroline Islands with a total area of , unless one considers the still larger Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon as a type o ...
.
Erikub Atoll was claimed by the
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1885. After
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the
island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
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 W ...
of the
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
. The base became part of the vast US
Naval Base Marshall Islands. Following the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Erikub came under the control of the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
as part of the
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. The Imperial Japanese South Seas Mandate had been seized by the U.S. during the Pacifi ...
. The island has been part of the independent
Republic of the Marshall Islands since 1986.
Ecology
Loj island, within the atoll, is a nesting site of the
green turtle
The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exte ...
.
See also
*
Desert island
An uninhabited island, desert island, or deserted island, is an island, islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes ...
*
List of islands
This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water
A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refer ...
References
External links
*
Atolls of the Marshall Islands
Ratak Chain
Uninhabited islands of the Marshall Islands
{{Marshalls-geo-stub