Kaven (also Kaben) is a small island in the

Maloelap Atoll The Maloelap Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) (also spelled Maleolap) is a coral atoll of 71 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area is only , but that encloses a lagoon o ...

in the

Republic 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 ...

. Situated at the northwesternmost tip of the

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 ...

, it is the largest island and one of the few inhabited ones on the atoll. Together with a few other small islands, it forms part of the "outer islands" of the Marshalls. The island is located to the east of the

Likiep Atoll Likiep Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 65 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is approximately northwest of Wotje. Its total land area is only , but that en ...

, between Jeltonet in the southwest and Anejaej in the northwest. The southwesternmost tip of the island is called Anenemmwaan also. The region is uninhabited.

Geography

Kaben is a small island, no more than 2.5 kilometers long and a kilometer across. The island has around in area. It is almost rectangularly-shaped, with a slight hooklike protuberance on the northeastern region of the island. Kaben is lightly inhabited, having had a few man-made structures erected along its southeast coast.

History

Historically, the island has been claimed by the '' Iroij'', royalty of the islands, as their personal property prohibiting peasant islanders from fishing the island's waters. Fishing by local islanders only resumed when an official government for the islands was formed and fishing was officially declared permissible. As the largest island in the atoll, ''Iroij'' coronation events have traditionally taken place on Kaben. The island has several myths and legends surrounding it and its remote waters.

Flora and Fauna

The fauna of the island is similar to that of the other islands in the Marshalls. Terrestrial fauna is limited to small

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s such as the hermit crabs ''

Coenobita :''The junior homonym ''Coenobita'' Gistl, 1848 is now the moth genus '' Ectropis. The genus ''Coenobita'' contains 17 species of terrestrial hermit crabs. Several species in this genus are kept as pets. Ecology ''Coenobita'' species carry w ...

'' and land crabs from the family

Gecarcinidae The Gecarcinidae, the land crabs, are a family of true crabs that are adapted for terrestrial existence. Similar to all other crabs, land crabs possess a series of gills. In addition, the part of the carapace covering the gills is inflated and eq ...

. Historically, the island has been cited as the home for a large population of edible

coconut crab The coconut crab (''Birgus latro'') is a terrestrial species of giant hermit crab, and is also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest terrestrial arthropod known, with a weight up to . The distance from the tip of one leg to ...

s. Plants include coconut palms (''Cocos nucifera''), pandanus trees (''Pandanus tectorius''),

Scaevola taccada ''Scaevola taccada'', also known as beach cabbage, sea lettuce, or beach naupaka, is a flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae found in mangrove swamps and rocky or sandy coastal locations in the tropical areas of the Indo-Pacific. It is a co ...

Tournefortia argentea ''Heliotropium arboreum'' is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It is native to tropical Asia including southern China, Madagascar, northern Australia, and most of the atolls and high islands of Micronesia and Polyn ...

Casuarina equisetifolia ''Casuarina equisetifolia'', commonly known as coastal she-oak, horsetail she-oak, ironwood, beach sheoak, beach casuarina, whistling tree or Australian pine is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is native to Australia, ...

and

Ipomoea pes-caprae ''Ipomoea pes-caprae'', also known as bayhops, bay-hops, beach morning glory, railroad vine, or goat's foot, is a common pantropical creeping vine belonging to the family Convolvulaceae. It grows on the upper parts of beaches and endures salted a ...

Airport

The Kaven Island has an airport, Kaben Airport . However, airport is a misnomer. It is a simple

airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

without any major airport facilities. A 2000 Technical Assistance Report by the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

suggested that, for infrastructure development, the runways of several airstrips throughout the Marshall Islands, including the one on Kaven, be rehabilitated. This rehabilitation was suggested to include de-forestation of the vegetation surrounding the airstrip and the construction of adequate aero-navigational facilities. Not to be confused: On the main Likiep Atoll is an even larger

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

, too.

Famous Person

Roman Cress Roman William Cress (born August 2, 1977, in Kaven) is a track athlete from the Marshall Islands. He was born to an American father and Marshallese mother. Cress attended South High School and participated in Track as a student. He then attend ...

, sprinter

References

Bibliography

Trip report to Kaven on water quality
* {{authority control Maloelap Atoll Airports in the Marshall Islands Islands of the Marshall Islands