Poluwat, also Polowat, formerly Puluwat, is a

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 ...

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 ...

and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Chuuk state,

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (, abbreviated FSM), or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a region of Oceania. The federation encompasses the majority of the Caroline Islands (excluding Palau) and consists of four Admin ...

Name

The name of the island goes back to Proto-Chuukic ''*pʷolowado''.

Geography

Polowat is located in the northwestern region ( Oksoritod), and there in the western area ( Pattiw) of Chuuk state. The location is . The atoll has five islets (including itself) lying on the rim of the reef, with an aggregate land area of 3.4 km², listed counterclockwise starting at Polowat in the southeast: #Polowat (east) #Alengelap (north rim) #To (north rim) #Alei (west) #Haw (south) Since Polowat Atoll has only a small lagoon, in comparison with most Micronesian atolls, the total size is only 7 km². Alei in the west and Polowat in the east, the two largest islands of the atoll, have breadfruit trees at the middle and coconut palms along the shores. Along the northern rim of the reef, between Polowat and Alei, are Alengelap Islet and To Islet. The southern corner of the atoll is marked by Haw Islet, with 0.02 km² the smallest. These smaller islets are rocky and wooded, but have few coconut palms. Polowat Atoll and specifically Alei Island are the westernmost land features of Chuuk state. There are three villages on the west side of Polowat Island, facing the lagoon, with a total population of 1,015 (

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000), from north to south: #Relong #Lukaf #Rewow Uranie Bank, which extends about 26 km southeast from Polowat, has depths of 11 to 61 meters. Together with Polowat Atoll, it might be considered part of a larger, mostly submerged atoll structure, with a total size of 332 km². Enderby Bank, with a depth of 16 meters, coral, lies about 5 km west-northwest of Alei Island.

Climate

History

It was discovered by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

naval officer

Juan Antonio de Ibargoitia ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

commanding the vessel ''Filipino'' on 7 April 1801. The Japanese

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

during

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 ...

was composed of 2,769 IJA men of the 11th Independent Mixed Regiment under the command of Colonel Tatsuo Yasui and 243 IJN men. Due to a food shortage 2 of the 3 army battalions were moved to Truk but still, 335 IJA soldiers and 211 IJN soldiers on the island died of hunger and illness. Japanese defense bunkers from the years leading up to World War II and a white concrete lighthouse tower, 40 meters high, stand on the northwest end of Alei. There are also many Japanese relics from World War II on Alei, including a beached ship that was attacked by American aircraft. At the bottom of the larger lagoon lies an American plane, also from World War II. The Japanese Lighthouse, is listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Communications

There is a radio station on Polowat.permanent.access.gpo.gov
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Notes

References

External links

NASA Satellite Image
{{authority control Atolls of the Federated States of Micronesia Municipalities of Chuuk State