Pingelap

The easternmost atoll of the Caroline Islands, the small Pingelap atoll (shown here in false-colour) is located within eastern Pohnpei State 113 km southeast from Mokil and 265 km southeast from Pohnpei; the large island of Kosrae lies 260 km to the southeast.

The atoll has a maximum dimension of 4 km along the northwest-southeast axis. Its broad reef rim is topped by three densely wooded islands with a combined land area of 1.8 km²: Pingelap, the largest, on the southeast; Takai (Sukeru) on the north; and the small Tugulu (Deke) on the west. The rim and reef flats of the atoll encloses a small lagoon with two basins — the deeper southeastern basin is separated from the northeastern basin by a lagoon crossing ridge of coral.

image: millenium coral reefs landsat archive/usf millenium global coral reef mapping project/nasa seawifs/nasa jsc

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