Erikub Atoll is an uninhabited coral atoll of six islands in the Pacific Ocean, located in the Ratak Chain

Ratak Chain

The Ratak Chain is a chain of islands within the island nation of the Marshall Islands. Ratak means "sunrise". It lies just to the east of the country's other main island chain, the Ralik Chain...

 of the Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

. Its total land area is only 1.53 square kilometre (0.590736302646579 sq mi), but it encloses a lagoon with an area of 230 square kilometres (88.8 sq mi). It is located slightly south of Wotje.

History

Erikub Atoll was claimed by the Empire of Germany along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884. After World War I, the island came under the South Pacific Mandate

South Pacific Mandate

The was the Japanese League of Nations mandate consisting of several groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean which came under the administration of Japan after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I.-Early history:Under the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, after the start of World...

 of the Empire of Japan

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

. Following the end of World War II, Erikub came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1986.-History:...

. The island has been part of the independent Republic of the Marshall Islands since 1986.

External links

• Entry at Oceandots.com