Melekeok
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Melekeok is a state of the
Republic of Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands, w ...
located on the central east coast of Babeldaob Island. The seat of government of the country,
Ngerulmud Ngerulmud () is the seat of government of the Republic of Palau, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean. It replaced Koror City as a capital in 2006. The settlement is located in the state of Melekeok on Babeldaob, the country's largest island ...
, is located in the state. The state consists of long beaches, hills, steep ridges, rivers, and the largest and only natural freshwater lake in Palau and
Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...
, Lake Ngardok.


Political system

Melekeok has its own constitution, adopted in 1983. The state government was established in 1984. The state of Melekeok, with population of 318, has an elected chief executive, governor. The state also has a legislature elected every four years; its population elects one of the members in the
House of Delegates of Palau The House of Delegates of Palau is the lower house of the Palau National Congress (''Olbiil era Kelulau''), Palau's bicameral legislature. The Senate of Palau is the upper house. The House of Delegates has 16 members, each serving four-year term ...
.


Geography

Melekeok, located on the central east coast of Babeldaob, includes long stretches of sandy beaches and the broad Ngerdorch River valley which begins at Lake Ngerdok, the largest fresh water lake in Palau. Melekeok extends from the lagoon on the east coast to the Rael Kedam, the central divide on Babeldaob Island, and situated between Ngiwal on the north and by Ngchesar on the south. To the west, Melekeok is bounded by Ngeremlengui. The interior of the state is composed of steeply dissected rolling hills with swampy marshes lining sluggish drainages. Thick forests cover the east flanks of the Rael Kedam, and the sandy beaches are lined with coconut palms, but much of the interior is covered with sparse vegetation. A thin fringe of
mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen and remove sal ...
emerges along the northern and southern stretches of coast, but is lacking for most of the central coast. A ridge system parallels the coast and the prominent Tochobei Hill is situated near the center of this system. A series of small ridges descend like fingers from the main ridge system to the coast. Melekeok State is approximately in total area. Melekeok's Lake Ngardok is the largest natural body of fresh water in all of Micronesia at ; it has a small population of
saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats, brackish wetlands and freshwater rivers from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaland to northern Australia and Micronesia. It ha ...
s ''Crocodylus porosus''. Presently, most land use in Melekeok is confined to gardens surrounding the modern villages of Ngerubesang, Ngerang Ngerames, Ngermelech, and Ngeruliang. Melekeok Village and sometimes Ngeburch are also recognized as hamlets of Melekeok, and in fact, administrative control for much of Melekeok is held by Melekeok Village. Interspersed with these kitchen gardens are stands of agroforest which include
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
,
betelnut The areca nut ( or ) or betel nut () is the fruit of the areca palm (''Areca catechu''). The palm is originally native to the Philippines, but was carried widely through the tropics by the Austronesian expansion, Austronesian migrations and ...
,
breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family ( Moraceae) believed to have been selectively bred in Polynesia from the breadnut ('' Artocarpus camansi''). Breadfruit was spread into ...
,
almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...
trees, and
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...
plants. In and around many of the uninhabited villages are stands of coconut and betelnut palms, and occasionally patches of irregularly attended taro swamp gardens.


Demography

The population of the state was 277 in the 2015 census and median age was 37.3 years. The official languages of the state are Palauan and English. Reklai is the title of the traditional high chief from the state. In June 1972, the resident population was 378. According to the 2005 census, 391 people resided in the State of Melekeok. They are distributed among seven villages, with Melekeok being the largest. The new capital,
Ngerulmud Ngerulmud () is the seat of government of the Republic of Palau, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean. It replaced Koror City as a capital in 2006. The settlement is located in the state of Melekeok on Babeldaob, the country's largest island ...
, had not been established at the time of the census, and lies on a hill, northwest of the village of Melekeok. # Melekeok (271) #Ertong (20) #Ngeburch (34) #Ngeremecheluch (38) #Ngermelech (5) #Ngerubesang (12) #Ngeruling (21)


Education

The
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
operates public schools. The Melkeok Elementary School consists of a two-story building.Melkeok Elementary School
." Ministry of Education (Palau). Retrieved on February 22, 2018.
The Palau High School in
Koror Koror is the state comprising the main commercial centre of the Republic of Palau. It consists of several islands, the most prominent being Koror Island (also ''Oreor Island''). It is Palau’s most populous state. History In the oral tradition of ...
is the country's only public high school, so children from this community go there.About
." Palau High School. Retrieved on February 22, 2018.


Transport

Within Melekeok, a paved road connects the four modern villages. A bladed road runs to the packed earth airstrip, and connects Melekeok with southern Babeldaob.


Tourism

Apart from its natural beauties and the Capitol, there are several registered places of interest: * Odalmelech (Ngermelech Gods carved from Stone), Ngermelech Village *Meteu el Klechem, Melekeok Village *Did el Bad er a Beriber (Ancient Dock's stone bridge), Melekeok Village *Ngermecheluch Site, Ngerang *Bai el Melekeong/Euang el Chades (Melekeok's Bai and its platform of four), Melekeok Village *Lomech er Ngii el mora Ngeremecheluch (ancient stone path), Melekeok Village File:Melekeok.png, Melekeok area on topographic map


References


External links


Seacology Melekeok State Project
Seacology
Melekeok StateHonorary Consulate of the Republic of Palau to the UK &NI
States of Palau {{Palau-geo-stub