Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...

is a tiny phosphate rock island nation located in the South

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

south 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 ...

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

. It is only south of the

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

coordinates In geometry, a coordinate system is a system that uses one or more numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely determine and standardize the Position (geometry), position of the Point (geometry), points or other geometric elements on a manifold such as ...

. Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean—the others are

Banaba BanabaThe correct spelling and etymology in Gilbertese should be ''Bwanaba'' but the Constitution of Kiribati writes Banaba. Because of the spelling in English or French, the name was very often written Paanapa or Paanopa, as it was in 1901 A ...

(Ocean Island) in

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

and

Makatea Makatea, or Mangaia-te-vai-tamae, is a raised coral atoll in the northwestern part of the Tuamotus, which is a part of the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia. It is located southwest from Rangiroa to the west of the Palliser Islan ...

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

. Its land area is , and it has a . Maritime claims are an

Exclusive Economic Zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

of with 200-nautical-miles (370 km), and a 12-nautical-mile (22 km) territorial sea. The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

with a

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

rainy season from November to February. A sandy beach rises to the fertile ring around raised fringing coral reefs. The raised phosphate plateau ('Topside') takes up the central portion of the island. The highest point is 213 ft (65 m) above sea level, along the plateau rim. Nauru's only economically significant natural resources are

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

s, formed from

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

deposits by seabirds, and fisheries, particularly for

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

. Due to being surrounded by

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

s and sandy beaches, the island houses no natural

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

s, nor any

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s or substantial

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s. Nauru has a unique navigational system, which is only capable of being used on the island.

Geology of Nauru

Nauru is a

raised coral atoll A raised coral atoll or uplifted coral atoll is an atoll that has been lifted high enough above sea level by tectonic forces, protecting it from scouring by storms and enabling soils and diverse – often endemic – species of flora and fauna to ...

positioned in the Nauru Basin of the Pacific Ocean, on a part of the Pacific Plate that formed at a

mid-oceanic ridge A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It typically has a depth of about and rises about above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. This feature is where seafloor spreading takes place along a ...

at 132 Ma. From mid-

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

(35mya) to

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

times, a submarine

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

built up over a

hotspot Hotspot, Hot Spot or Hot spot may refer to: Places * Hot Spot, Kentucky, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Hot Spot (comics), a name for the DC Comics character Isaiah Crockett * Hot Spot (Tr ...

and formed a

seamount A seamount is a large submarine landform that rises from the ocean floor without reaching the water surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet, or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abruptly a ...

composed of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

. The seamount is over 4300 metres high. This hotspot was simultaneous with a major Pacific Plate reorganisation. The volcano was eroded to sea level and a

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...

grew on top to a thickness of about 500 metres. Coral near the surface has been dated from 5 Mya to 0.3 Mya. The original limestone has been dolomitised by

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

from

seawater Seawater, or sea water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has approximat ...

. The coral was raised above sea level about 30 metres and is now a dolomite limestone outcrop which was eroded in classic

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

style into

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

s up to 20 metres high. To at least a depth of 55 metres below sea level, the limestone has been dissolved forming cavities, sinkholes, and caves. Holes on the topside of the island were filled up by a

layer up to several metres thick.

Anibare Bay Anibare Bay is a large bay located in the Anibare District of eastern Nauru island. Physical features It is bordered by capes to the north and south, in Ijuw and Meneng districts respectively. Its Anibare Beach is in excess of two kilometer ...

was formed by the underwater collapse of the east side of the volcano. Buada Lagoon was formed by solution of the limestone when the sea level was lower, followed by collapse. Nauru is moving at per year to the northwest along with the Pacific Plate. Freshwater can be found in Buada lagoon, and also in some brackish ponds at the escarpment base in Ijuw and

Anabar Anabar may refer to: * Anabar Bay, Laptev Sea * Anabar Constituency, Nauru * Anabar District, Nauru * Anabar District, Russia, Sakha, Russia * Anabar Highway, Russia * Anabar Plateau, Russia * Anabar (river) The Anabar (, in its upper course ...

in the northeast. There is an underground lake in Moqua Cave in the southeast of the island. Since there are no streams or rivers on Nauru, water must be gathered from roof catchment systems. Water is also brought to Nauru as ballast on ships returning for loads of phosphate.

Environmental issues

*Periodic

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

s, limited natural freshwater resources (roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging

desalination Desalination is a process that removes mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination is the removal of salts and minerals from a substance. One example is Soil salinity control, soil desalination. This is important for agric ...

plant) *Extreme soil conditions are caused by high alkalinity, high phosphate levels, and low

potassium Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to ...

Iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mo (from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'') and atomic number 42. The name derived from Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ores. Molybdenum minerals hav ...

, and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

are rendered unavailable to plants. Combined with thin or damaged soils this causes low fertility. *Intensive

phosphate mining Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphor ...

during the past 90 years has left the central 80% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources. Nauru is a party to the international environmental agreements on

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

desertification Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities. The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...

, the

law of the sea Law of the sea (or ocean law) is a body of international law governing the rights and duties of State (polity), states in Ocean, maritime environments. It concerns matters such as navigational rights, sea mineral claims, and coastal waters juris ...

and marine dumping.

Climate

Temperature Bar Chart Pacific-Nauru--1909-2020--2021-07-13

Nauru's climate is hot and very humid year-round because of its proximity to the equator and the ocean. Nauru is hit by

rains between November and February, but rarely has cyclones. Annual rainfall is highly variable and is influenced by the

El Niño–Southern Oscillation El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a global climate phenomenon that emerges from variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical Pacific Ocean. Those variations have an irregular pattern but do have some semblance of cyc ...

, with several significant recorded droughts. The temperature on Nauru ranges between during the day and is quite stable at around at night.

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of

, the points that are farther north, south, east or west or higher than any other location. * Northernmost point –

Cape Anna Wilhelmina Bay () is a bay wide between the Reclus Peninsula and Cape Anna along the west coast of Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula. Location Wilhelmina Bay is on the Danco Coast on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. It indents ...

, Ewa District. * Easternmost point – Cape Ijuw,

Ijuw District Ijuw is a district in the country of Nauru, located in the northeast of the island. The area covers 1.1 km2 and has a population of 276, making Ijuw the least populated district in the country. Geography Ijuw borders Anabar District to the ...

. * Southernmost point – unnamed headland south of the wireless station,

Meneng District Meneng (or Menen) is a district located in the Meneng Constituency in the country of Nauru. The constituency elects 2 members to the Parliament of Nauru in Yaren. Geography The district is located in the southeast of the island, covering an are ...

. * Westernmost point – the harbour,

Aiwo District Aiwo (rarely Aiue, in earlier times ''Yangor'') is a district in the Pacific country of Nauru. It belongs to Aiwo Constituency. Geography It is located in the west of the island. It covers an area of and has a population of 1,258. It is sometim ...

. * Highest point – Command Ridge (65 m, 213 ft). * Lowest point –

(sea level).

Geology of Nauru

Environmental issues

Climate

Extreme points

References

See also