Caroline Island
Encyclopedia
Caroline Island or Caroline Atoll (also known as Millennium Island and Beccisa Island), is the easternmost of the uninhabited coral atolls which comprise the southern Line Islands
Line Islands
The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands, is a chain of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawaiian Islands, that stretches for 2,350 km in a northwest-southeast direction, making it one of the longest islands chains of the world...
in the central Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
First sighted by Europeans in 1606, claimed by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
in 1868, and part of the Republic of Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
since the island nation's independence in 1979, Caroline Island has remained relatively untouched and is considered one of the world's most pristine tropical
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
islands, despite guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
mining, copra
Copra
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...
harvesting, and human habitation in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is home to one of the world's largest populations of the coconut crab
Coconut crab
The coconut crab, Birgus latro, is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest land-living arthropod in the world, and is probably at the upper size limit of terrestrial animals with exoskeletons in today's atmosphere at a weight of up to...
and is an important breeding site for seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s, most notably the sooty tern
Sooty Tern
The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...
.
The atoll is best known for its role in celebrations surrounding the arrival of the year 2000— a 1995 realignment of the International Date Line
International Date Line
The International Date Line is a generally north-south imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, passing through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that designates the place where each calendar day begins...
made Caroline Island one of the first points of land on Earth to see sunrise on January 1, 2000.
Geography and climate
Line Islands
The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands, is a chain of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawaiian Islands, that stretches for 2,350 km in a northwest-southeast direction, making it one of the longest islands chains of the world...
, a string of atolls extending across the equator some 1500 km (932.1 mi) south of the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
in the central Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. The slightly crescent-shaped atoll (3.76 km² or 1.45 mi² in land area) consists of 39 separate islets surrounding a narrow lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
, 8.7 by 1.2 km² in size, or with an area of 6.3 km². The total atoll area, including dry land, lagoon and reef flat, measures 13 by 2.5 km, or 24 km². The islets rise to a height of only 6 meters (20 ft) above sea level. The islets, like those of all atolls, share a common geologic origin and consist of sand deposits and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
rock set atop a coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
.
The remaining assembly of small islets, most of which were named during the 1988 ecological survey, conducted by Angela and Cameron Kepler
Angela Kepler
Angela Kay Kepler is a New Zealand-born naturalist and author.She is a graduate of the University of Canterbury, New Zealand and has a Master’s degree from the University of Hawaii and a doctorate from Cornell University, New York. She also studied at Oxford University.She has conducted research...
, fall into four major groupings: the South Nake Islets, the Central Leeward Islets, the Southern Leeward Islets, and the Windward Islets (see map). Caroline's islets are particularly ephemeral— over the course of a century of observation, several of the smallest islets have been documented to appear or disappear entirely following major storms, while the shapes of larger ones have significantly changed.
The central lagoon, roughly 6 km by 0.5 km (3.5 miles by 0.3 miles), is shallow – at most 5–7 m (15–25 ft) in depth – and is crossed repeatedly by narrow coral heads and patch reefs. Reef flats generally extend about 500 m (1600 ft) from shore— although some sources report them to extend more than a kilometer from land— and make boat landings perilous except at high tide. There are no natural landings, anchorages, or deep water openings into the central lagoon; water which spills into the lagoon over shallow channels at high tide is contained within the surrounding reef and remains stable despite ocean tides. Most landings are generally made at a small break in the reef at the northwest corner of the South Islet (visible on the satellite photo above).
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
(or Ghyben-Herzberg lenses), and wells have been built to tap drinking water for temporary settlements. Soils on Caroline are similarly poor, dominated by coral gravel and sand, with significant organic content present only within stable, forested island centers. Guano deposits make island soil, where it does exist, nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
-rich; but even in the oldest and most vegetated regions of the atoll, soils are only a few centimeters (one or two inches) thick.
Like the rest of Kiribati, Caroline Island enjoys a tropical maritime climate which is consistently hot and humid. Meteorological records are sparse, but temperatures generally range between 28 and 32 degrees Celsius (82 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit) year round. Caroline lies within a region of highly variable precipitation, but is estimated to receive an average of 1500 mm (60 in) of rain annually. Tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
s are on the order of 0.5 m (1.5 ft) and trade winds, generally from the northeast, mean that corner of the island experiences the roughest seas.
Caroline Island is among the most remote islands on earth–230 km (140 mi) from the closest land at Flint Island
Flint Island
Flint Island is an uninhabited coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the Southern Line Islands under the jurisdiction of Kiribati.-Geography:...
, 1500 km (932.1 mi) from the nearest permanent settlement on Kiritimati
Kiritimati
Kiritimati or Christmas Island is a Pacific Ocean raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands, and part of the Republic of Kiribati....
, 4200 km (2,609.8 mi) from the Kiribati capital of Tarawa, and 5100 km (3,169 mi) from the nearest continental land in North America.
Flora and fauna
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
and as a Biosphere Reserve
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...
. Ecological surveys documenting the island's flora and fauna have been made intermittently through the later 20th century: Caroline was visited in 1965 by the Pacific Ocean Biological Survey Program, in 1974 by the Line Island Expedition, and in 1988 and 1991 by the United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
Wildlife Conservation Unit.
Caroline Island is heavily vegetated, and most islets possess three ringed zones of vegetation: an outermost herb mat, typically composed mainly of Heliotropium anomalum
Heliotropium anomalum
Heliotropium anomalum is a species of flowering shrub in the borage family, Boraginaceae, that is native to the Hawaiian Islands, Guam, Christmas Island, Saipan, Tinian, Wake Island and New Caledonia. Common names include Polynesian Heliotrope, Pacific Heliotrope and Hinahina kū kahakai . H. a. var...
; an inward zone of shrub, primarily Heliotropium foertherianum
Heliotropium foertherianum
Heliotropium foertherianum 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 Polynesia. Common names include Tree Heliotrope, Velvet...
; and a central forested region, typically dominated by groves of Pisonia grandis
Pisonia grandis
Pisonia grandis is a species of flowering tree in the Bougainvillea family, Nyctaginaceae.-Description:The tree has broad, thin leaves, smooth bark and bears clusters of green sweet-smelling flowers that mature into sticky barbed seeds....
trees. Coconut palms have also been introduced and exist in substantial quantities on the larger islets. This pattern of vegetation is consistent across the larger islets, with smaller islets lacking the central forest and the smallest vegetated solely by low herbs. Other common plants include Suriana maritima
Suriana
Suriana is a monotypic genus of flowering plants containing only Suriana maritima, which is commonly known as Bay Cedar. It has a pantropical distribution and can be found on coasts in the New and Old World tropics. Bay Cedar is an evergreen shrub or small tree, usually reaching a height of and...
and Morinda citrifolia
Noni
Morinda citrifolia, commonly known as great morinda, Indian mulberry, nunaakai , dog dumpling , mengkudu , Kumudu , pace , beach mulberry, cheese fruit or noni is a tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae...
.
Caroline Island is an important breeding site for a number of species of seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s, most notably the Sooty Tern
Sooty Tern
The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...
(Onychoprion fuscata), numbering around 500,000 – a colony of Sooty Terns dominates the eastern islets – and the Great Frigatebird
Great Frigatebird
The Great Frigatebird is a large dispersive seabird in the frigatebird family. Major nesting populations are found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as a population in the South Atlantic....
(Fregata minor), numbering over 10,000. Caroline Island and its neighbor, Flint Island
Flint Island
Flint Island is an uninhabited coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the Southern Line Islands under the jurisdiction of Kiribati.-Geography:...
, also host some of the world's largest populations of the coconut crab
Coconut crab
The coconut crab, Birgus latro, is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest land-living arthropod in the world, and is probably at the upper size limit of terrestrial animals with exoskeletons in today's atmosphere at a weight of up to...
. (Birgus latro). Other native animals include the Tridacna
Tridacna
Tridacna is a genus of large and gigantic saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the subfamily Tridacninae, the giant clams. They have heavy shells, fluted with 4–6 folds. Mantle is brightly coloured. They inhabit shallow waters of coral reefs in warm seas of the Indo-Pacific region...
clam, which is abundant in the central lagoon, hermit crab
Hermit crab
Hermit crabs are decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea. Most of the 1100 species possess an asymmetrical abdomen which is concealed in an empty gastropod shell that is carried around by the hermit crab.-Description:...
s, and multiple species of lizards.
The endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nests on the beaches of Caroline Island, but there have been reports of poaching by recent homesteaders. The Bristle-thighed Curlew
Bristle-thighed Curlew
The Bristle-thighed Curlew, Numenius tahitiensis, is a large shorebird that breeds in Alaska and winters on tropical Pacific islands. It has a long, decurved bill and bristled feathers at the base of the legs. Its length is about 43 cm and wingspan about 84 cm...
(Numenius tahitiensis), a migrant visitor from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, is also classified as vulnerable
Conservation status (TNC)
The NatureServe conservation status system, maintained and presented by NatureServe in cooperation with the Natural Heritage Network, was developed in the United States in the 1980s by The Nature Conservancy as a means for ranking or categorizing the relative imperilment of species of plants,...
.
Around twenty non-native species of flora have been introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
to Caroline Island via human contact. Among these are the vine Ipomoea violacea
Ipomoea violacea
Ipomoea violacea is a perennial species of Ipomoea that occurs throughout the tropics, growing in coastal regions. It is most commonly called 'Beach Moonflower' or 'Sea Moonflower' as the flowers open at night...
, which has begun to proliferate. Domestic cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s and dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s introduced alongside a small homestead have driven the seabird population away from the islet of Monu Ata-Ata.
Prehistory
Caroline Island is believed to have originated from a volcanic hotspotHotspot (geology)
The places known as hotspots or hot spots in geology are volcanic regions thought to be fed by underlying mantle that is anomalously hot compared with the mantle elsewhere. They may be on, near to, or far from tectonic plate boundaries. There are two hypotheses to explain them...
which eroded and then become home to a coral reef which grew above the ocean surface. Although these geological processes are poorly understood, the orientation of the Line Islands (roughly north-south) suggests that they were formed more than 40 million years ago, before the Pacific Plate
Pacific Plate
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At 103 million square kilometres, it is the largest tectonic plate....
changed its direction of travel. The same hotspot more recently gave rise to the Tuamotu Archipelago.
There is evidence of settlement by Polynesian
Polynesian culture
Polynesian culture refers to the indigenous peoples' culture of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. Chronologically, the development of Polynesian culture can be divided into four different historical eras:...
peoples on the largest islets from before European contact. Graves and template platforms were uncovered by early expeditions to the island, and a large marae
Marae
A marae malae , malae , is a communal or sacred place which serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies...
exists on the west side of Nake Islet. To date, these artifacts have not been surveyed by archaeologists.
17th to 19th century
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
explorer sailing on behalf of Spain
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
; his account names the island "San Bernardo." The atoll was "rediscovered" on December 16, 1795 by Captain William Robert Broughton
William Robert Broughton
William Robert Broughton was a British naval officer in the late 18th century. As a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he commanded HMS Chatham as part of the Vancouver Expedition, a voyage of exploration through the Pacific Ocean led by Captain George Vancouver in the early 1790s.-With Vancouver:In...
of , who gave the atoll the name Carolina (which later became Caroline) "in compliment to the daughter of Sir P. Stephens of the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
." Caroline was again sighted in 1821 by the English whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
ship Supply and was then named "Thornton Island" for the ship's captain. Other early names for the atoll include Hirst Island, Clark Island, and Independence Island. Among other early visits which left behind accounts of the island are that of the USS Dolphin
USS Dolphin (1821)
USS Dolphin, a schooner, was the second ship of the United States Navy named for the aquatic mammal.Dolphin was launched on 23 June 1821 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard and sent to New York City to be readied for sea...
in 1825 (recorded by Lieutenant Hiram Paulding
Hiram Paulding
Hiram Paulding was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, who served from the War of 1812 until after the Civil War.-Naval career:...
), and of a whaling ship in 1835 (recorded by Frederick Debell Bennett in his Narrative of a Whaling Voyage Round the Globe From the Year 1833–1836).
In 1846, the Tahitian firm of Collie and Lucett attempted to establish a small stock-raising and copra
Copra
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...
(coconut meat) community on the island, an operation which met with limited financial success. In 1868, Caroline was claimed by the British vessel HMS Reindeer, which noted 27 residents in a settlement on South Islet. This settlement lasted until 1904, when the six remaining Polynesians were relocated to Niue
Niue
Niue , is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and inhabitants of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to...
.
In 1872, the island was leased by the British government to Houlder Brothers, who conducted minimal guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
mining on the island. In 1881, the lease was later taken over by the mining operation's manager, John T. Arundel (for whom one of the islets is named). Guano mining, which began in 1874, supplied a total of about 10,000 tons of phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
until supplies were exhausted around 1895.
In 1883, an expedition of American astronomers traveled from Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
to Caroline Island aboard the USS Hartford
USS Hartford
Two ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Hartford, named in honor of Hartford, the capital of Connecticut., was a sloop-of-war, commissioned in 1859 and finally disposed of in 1957....
to observe a total solar eclipse
Solar eclipse
As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...
on May 6. A French expedition also observed the eclipse from Caroline, and the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
mapped the atoll. Johann Palisa
Johann Palisa
Johann Palisa was an Austrian astronomer, born in Opava in Austrian Silesia .He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gellivara in 1923...
, a member of the expedition, discovered an asteroid later that year which he named Carolina
235 Carolina
235 Carolina is a sizeable Main belt asteroid. It is an S-type asteroid.It was discovered by Johann Palisa on November 28, 1883 in Vienna.The asteroid was named after Caroline Island, now part of Kiribati.- References :...
"in remembrance of his visit to [the] island."
20th century
Leased to S.R. Maxwell and Company, a new settlement was established in 1916, this time built entirely upon copraCopra
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...
export. Much of the South islet was deforested to make way for coconut palms, a non-indigenous plant. The business venture, however, went into debt, and the island's settlement slowly decreased in population. By 1926, it was down to only ten residents and by 1936, the settlement consisted of only two Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
an families before abandonment sometime in the late 1930s.
Caroline Island remained uninhabited and undisturbed through World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and afterwards. It remained under British jurisdiction, repossessed by the British Western Pacific High Commission in 1943 and governed as part of the Central and Southern Line Islands. In January 1972, the Central and Southern Line Islands, including Caroline, were joined with the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands
Gilbert and Ellice Islands
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were a British protectorate from 1892 and colony from 1916 until 1 January 1976, when the islands were divided into two different colonies which became independent nations shortly after...
, which had become autonomous in 1971 as part of British decolonization
Decolonization
Decolonization refers to the undoing of colonialism, the unequal relation of polities whereby one people or nation establishes and maintains dependent Territory over another...
efforts.
In 1979, the Gilbert Islands became the independent nation of Kiribati; Caroline Island was then and continues to be Kiribati's easternmost point. The entire island is presently owned by the government of the Republic of Kiribati, overseen by the Ministry of Line and Phoenix
Phoenix Islands
The Phoenix Islands are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs, lying in the central Pacific Ocean east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands. They are a part of the Republic of Kiribati. During the late 1930s they became the site of the last attempted colonial...
Groups, which is headquartered on Kiritimati
Kiritimati
Kiritimati or Christmas Island is a Pacific Ocean raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands, and part of the Republic of Kiribati....
. Competing claims to sovereignty over the island by the United States (under the Guano Islands Act
Guano Islands Act
The Guano Islands Act is federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, on August 18, 1856. It enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of other...
) were relinquished in the 1979 Treaty of Tarawa
Treaty of Tarawa
On September 20, 1979, representatives of the newly independent Republic of Kiribati and of the United States met in Tarawa to sign a treaty of friendship between the two nations, known as the Treaty of Tarawa. In this treaty, the U.S. acknowledged Kiribati sovereignty over fourteen islands...
, ratified by the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1983.
The island was briefly inhabited again from 1987 to 1991 by Ron Falconer, his wife Anne, and their two children, who developed a largely self-sufficient settlement on the atoll. Following a transfer of ownership, Falconer was evicted from the island by the Kiribati government. A book, Together Alone (ISBN 1-86325-428-5), written by Falconer, documents the story of their residence on Caroline Island.
In the 1990s, the island was leased to Urima Felix, a French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
n entrepreneur; he established a small homestead on one of the islets and reportedly had plans for development of the atoll. The island is also occasionally visited by Polynesian copra
Copra
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...
gatherers under agreements with the Kiribati government in Tarawa
Tarawa Atoll
Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. It is the location of the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, South Tarawa...
.
Time zone realignment
Time zone
A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
for the Line Islands, to take effect January 1, 1995. This adjustment effectively moved the International Date Line over 1000 kilometres (621.4 mi) to the east within Kiribati, placing all of Kiribati on the Asian or western side of the date line, despite the fact that Caroline's longitude of 150 degrees west corresponds to UTC−10
UTC-10
UTC−10 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −10. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Cook Islands *Tokelau *French Polynesia...
rather than its official time zone of UTC+14
UTC+14
UTC+14 is an identifier for a +14 hour time offset from UTC. This is the highest time zone, meaning that areas in this zone are the first to see a new day, and therefore the first to celebrate a new year....
. Caroline Island now is at the same time as the Hawaiian Islands (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time Zone), but one day later. This move made Caroline Island both the easternmost land in the earliest time zone (by some definitions, the easternmost point on Earth), and one of the first points of land which would see sunrise on January 1, 2000 — at 5:43 a.m., as measured by local time.
The stated reason for the move was a campaign promise of Kiribati President Teburoro Tito
Teburoro Tito
Teburoro Tito was the President and foreign minister of Kiribati from October 1, 1994 to March 28, 2003. He was elected for the first time in 1994. He was reelected in 1998 with 52% of the vote. His main opponent was Harry Tong, who later ran against his brother, current President Anote Tong...
to eliminate the confusion of Kiribati straddling the Date Line and therefore being constantly in two different days. However, Kiribati officials were not reluctant to attempt to capitalize on the nation's new status as owners of the first land to see sunrise in 2000. Other Pacific nations, including Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
and New Zealand's Chatham Islands
Chatham Islands
The Chatham Islands are an archipelago and New Zealand territory in the Pacific Ocean consisting of about ten islands within a radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. Their name in the indigenous language, Moriori, means Misty Sun...
, protested the move, objecting that it infringed on their claims to be the first land to see dawn in the year 2000.
In 1999, in order to further capitalize upon the massive public interest in celebrations marking the arrival of the year 2000
3rd millennium
In contemporary history, the third millennium is a period of time that commenced on January 1, 2001, and will end on December 31, 3000, of the Gregorian calendar. This is the third period of one thousand years in the Anno Domini...
, Caroline Island was officially renamed Millennium Island. Although uninhabited, a special celebration was held on the island, featuring performances by Kiribati native entertainers and attended by Kiribati president Tito. Over 70 Kiribati singers and dancers traveled to Caroline from the capital Tarawa
South Tarawa
South Tarawa is the official capital of the Republic of Kiribati on Tarawa Atoll. The meaning of Teinainano is "down of the mast", alluding to the sail-shape of the atoll...
, accompanied by approximately 25 journalists. The celebration, broadcast by satellite worldwide, had an estimated audience of up to one billion viewers.
Despite many media and government claims to the contrary, Caroline Island was not the first point of land to see sunrise on January 1, 2000 (local time); that distinction belongs to a point of land between Dibble Glacier and Victor Bay on the coast of East Antarctica
East Antarctica
East Antarctica, also called Greater Antarctica, constitutes the majority of the Antarctic continent, lying on the Indian Ocean side of the Transantarctic Mountains...
, at 66°03′S 135°53′E, where the sun rose 35 minutes earlier. As this point is close to the Antarctic Circle
Antarctic Circle
The Antarctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs south of the Equator.-Description:...
, and the area beyond the Antarctic Circle is affected by the continuous sunlight
Midnight sun
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Given fair weather, the sun is visible for a continuous...
in December, the definition of the exact point becomes a question of distinguishing between a sunset and an immediate sunrise in view of atmospheric refraction
Atmospheric refraction
Atmospheric refraction is the deviation of light or other things like humanelectromagnetic wave from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the variation in air density as a function of altitude...
effects.
21st century and future
As Caroline Island only extends six meters above sea level, it would be in danger if sea levels rise. The Kiribati government estimates that the island may be reclaimed by the sea as soon as 2025, and the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
has rated Caroline Island as among those most in danger from sea level rise.
External links
- UNEP Protected Areas Program Profile
- Living Archipelagos Profile
- Oceandots: Caroline Island
- High-resolution photo map of Caroline Island
- Millennium Celebrations on Millennium Island at Jane's Oceania Home Page
- An Astronomer's Voyage to Fairy-Land, from The Young Folks' Library, Volume XI, by Prof. E.S. Holden
- The Looking for Nemo Expedition, by Wayne and Karen Brown.