Discover

'Teraina', also known as 'Washington Island' (both names are constitutional), is a coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, part of the Northern Line Islands belonging to Kiribati. The island has an area of 7.8 km² (3 mi²), and the population in 1990 was 936 (more than 1,000 in 2000). It is located at 4.71° North latitude and 160.76° West longitude. At the western end of the island is the capital, Tangkore (Tengkore). Teraina differs from other atolls by having a large freshwater lake concealed within its ubiquitous coconut palm.
All villages are listed in the following table, with the preliminary census results of 2005, counterclockwise around the perimeter of the atoll, starting in the northeast with Abaiang and ending in the southeast with Onauea:

No.	Village	Population (Census 2005)
1	Abaiang	91
2	Kauamwemwe	106
3	Uteute	72
4	Kaaitara	34
5	Tangkore	203
6	Matanibike	191
7	Arabata	190
8	Mwakeitari	92
9	Onauea	176
	'Teraina'	1155

The island was first sighted by American explorer Edmund Fanning on June 12, 1798, who named the island for George Washington. The island was subsequently claimed under the Guano Islands Act of 1856 for the United States, a claim which has not been abandoned . It was annexed by the British in 1889, becoming a part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony in 1916. The name of the island was also translated to Teraina in 1979 when Kiribati gained independence. The major export of Teraina is copra, the dried meat of the coconut.
Other names for the island include Prospect Island and New York Island.

Contents

External links

External links

★ Washington Island, at JaneResture.com

★ Preliminary results of Census 2005