The Southwest Islands of Palau

Palau

Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...

 are several small islands spread across the 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...

, about 600 km from the main island chain of Palau. The nearshore islands to the southwest of the main island of Palau (Babelthuap), which belong to the states of Koror

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 ....

, Peleliu

Peleliu

Peleliu is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu forms, along with two small islands to its northeast, one of the sixteen states of Palau. It is located northeast of Angaur and southwest of Koror....

 and Angaur

Angaur

Angaur or Ngeaur is an island in the island nation of Palau. The island, which forms its own state, has an area of 8 km² . Its population is 188 . State capital is the village of Ngeremasch on the western side...

 and to the unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 Rock Islands

Rock Islands (Palau)

The Rock Islands of Palau, also called Chelbacheb, are a small collection of limestone or coral uprises, ancient relics of coral reefs that violently surfaced to form Islands in Palau's Southern Lagoon, between Koror and Peleliu, and are now an incorporated part of Koror State...

 of Palau, are not considered part of the Southwest Islands.

The Southwest Islands, grouped by states, from north to south:

• Sonsorol
  Sonsorol
  Sonsorol is one of the sixteen states of Palau. The administrative center is Dongosaru on Sonsorol island. The inhabitants speak Sonsorolese, a local Trukic language, and Palauan....
  
  
  • Fanna (Fana)
  • Sonsorol (Dongosaro)
  • Pulo Anna (Puro)
  • Merir (Melieli)
• Hatohobei
  Hatohobei
  Tobi Island, or Hatohobei , is the southernmost of Palau's sixteen states, consisting of Tobi Island and uninhabited Helen Reef. The total land area is about 0.88 km²...
  
  
  • Tobi Island (Hatohobei)
  • Helen Reef (Hotsarihie)
  • Transit Reef (Pieraurou)