Ujae Atoll ( Marshallese: or , ) is a coral atoll of 15 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik 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 of . It is located about west of

Kwajalein Atoll Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese language, Marshallese: ) is part of the Marshall Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking re ...

History

In folklore, the Marshallese people have long considered the island to be home to ''timon'' (demons). Its first recorded sighting was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Saavedra on 21 September 1529. Another sighting was reported by the Spanish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos in January 1543. In 1885, 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 ...

claimed Ujae Atoll along with the rest of the Marshall Islands. After World War I, the island came under the South Seas Mandate 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 island became part of the vast US Naval Base Marshall Islands. Following the end of World War II, it came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986. The population of Ujae Atoll was 310 at the 2021 census.

Education

Marshall Islands Public School System operates Ujae Elementary School. Kwajalein Atoll High School on Kwajalein serves the community.

Transportation

Ujae Airport is a public use

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 ...

on Ujae Island.

References

External links

Marshall Islands site
* Atolls of the Marshall Islands Ralik Chain Municipalities of the Marshall Islands {{Marshalls-geo-stub