Ailinglaplap Atoll
{{Infobox islands
| name = Ailinglaplap Atoll
| image_name = Ailinglaplap.JPG
| image_caption = NASA picture of Ailinglaplap Atoll
| image_size = 250px
| map = Marshall Islands
| map_caption = Location in the Marshall Islands
| location = North Pacific
| coordinates = {{coord|07|24|N|168|45|E|type:isle_region:MH|display=inline}}
| coastline_mi =
| country = {{flag|Marshall Islands}}
| archipelago = Ralik
| total_islands = 56
| area_km2 = 14.7
| elevation_m = 3
| population = 1,175
| population_as_of = 2021
| ethnic_groups = Marshallese
|image_map=Ailinglaplap Atoll in Marshall Islands.svg}}
Ailinglaplap or Ailinglapalap (Marshallese: {{lang|mh|Aelōn̄ļapļap}}, {{IPAc-mh|hay&l&nglhaplhap}}[http://www.trussel2.com/MOD/LocA.htm#Ael%C5%8D%C3%B1%E1%B8%B7ap%E1%B8%B7ap Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index]) is a coral atoll of 56 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain in the Marshall Islands. It is located {{convert|152|km|mi}} northwest of Jaluit Atoll. Its total land area is only {{convert|14.7|km2|sqmi|sp=us}}, but it encloses a lagoon of {{convert|750|km2|sqmi|sp=us}}. The economy of the atoll is dominated by coconut plantations. The population of the atoll was 1,175 in 2021.{{cite web |url=https://spccfpstore1.blob.core.windows.net/digitallibrary-docs/files/60/605c69d76a40195baa447b5a558b0e02.pdf?sv=2015-12-11&sr=b&sig=GbQ42ZYNKrH3g389jZn7DvHUO8ObwYrFpnxIeXiRSU0%3D&se=2024-03-25T18%3A07%3A37Z&sp=r&rscc=public%2C%20max-age%3D864000%2C%20max-stale%3D86400&rsct=application%2Fpdf&rscd=inline%3B%20filename%3D%22Marshall_Islands_2021_Census_Vol1_Table_report.pdf%22 |title=Republic of the Marshall Islands 2021 Census Report, Volume 1: Basic Tables and Administrative Report |date=May 30, 2023 |website=Pacific Community (SPC): Statistics for Development Division |publisher=Pacific Community |access-date=September 27, 2023 |archive-date=2023-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927183142/https://spccfpstore1.blob.core.windows.net/digitallibrary-docs/files/60/605c69d76a40195baa447b5a558b0e02.pdf?sv=2015-12-11&sr=b&sig=GbQ42ZYNKrH3g389jZn7DvHUO8ObwYrFpnxIeXiRSU0%3D&se=2024-03-25T18:07:37Z&sp=r&rscc=public,%20max-age%3D864000,%20max-stale%3D86400&rsct=application/pdf&rscd=inline%3B%20filename%3D%22Marshall_Islands_2021_Census_Vol1_Table_report.pdf%22 |url-status=dead }} Jabat Island is located off the coast of Ailinglaplap Atoll. The former president of the Marshall Islands, Kessai Note, was born on Jeh Island, Ailinglaplap Atoll.
"Ailinglaplap" translates as "greatest atoll" ({{lang|mh|aelōn̄}} (atoll) + {{lang|mh|ļapļap}} (superlative suffix)), because the greatest legends of the Marshallese people were created there. The four major population centers on Ailinglaplap Atoll are the settlements of Wotja, at the westernmost end of the atoll, Jih in the northeast, and Airek and Bigatjelang in the south.
History
Captain Thomas Dennet of the British vessel Britannia sighted the atoll in 1797 on route from Australia to China and named it Lambert Island.{{cite book |last1=Sharp |first1=Andrew |title=The Discovery of the Pacific Islands |date=1962 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |pages=177–8 |edition=Second}}
The British merchant vessel Rolla sighted several islands in the Ratak and Ralik Chains. On 6 November 1803 she sighted islands at {{coord|7|12|N|166|40|E}}, which was possibly Ailinglaplap Atoll. The next day six canoes of friendly natives came off.[http://www.micsem.org/pubs/articles/historical/forships/marshalls.htm Foreign Ships in Micronesia: Marshalls - accessed 31 July 2015.] Rolla had transported convicts from Britain to New South Wales and was on her way to Canton to find a cargo to take back to Britain.
In 1885, the German Empire claimed Ailinglaplap Atoll along with the rest of the Marshall Islands.{{cite journal |last1=Churchill |first1=William |author-link1=William Churchill (ethnologist) |date=1920 |title=Germany's Lost Pacific Empire |jstor=207706 |journal=Geographical Review |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=84–90|doi=10.2307/207706 |bibcode=1920GeoRv..10...84C }} A number of European trading stations were established on the islands to Ailingkaplap as part of the copra trade. After World War I, the island came under the South Seas Mandate of the Empire of Japan. The base became part of the vast US Naval Base Marshall Islands. Following the end of World War II, it came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986.
There are currently 4 Iroijlaplap (or paramount chief) of Ailinglaplap.
Infrastructure
There are 3 airstrips on the atoll, which are served by Air Marshall Islands when its aircraft are operational:
- Ailinglaplap Airok Airport {{airport codes|AIC}} is located to the south: {{coord|7|16|45|N|168|49|32|E|display=inline|type:airport}}.
- Jeh Airport {{airport codes|JEJ}} is located to the northeast: {{Coord|7|33|54|N|168|57|42|E|type:airport|display=inline}}.
- Woja Airport {{airport codes|WJA}} is located to west: {{coord|7|27|03|N|168|33|00|E|type:airport|display=inline}}.
Education
Marshall Islands Public School System operates public schools:"[http://pss.edu.mh/en/public-schools Public Schools ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221144020/http://pss.edu.mh/en/public-schools |date=2018-02-21 }}." Marshall Islands Public School System. Retrieved on February 21, 2018.
- Aerok Ailinglaplap
- Buoj Elementary School
- Enewa Elementary School
- Jah Elementary School
- Jeh Elementary School
- Jobwon Elementary School
- Katiej Elementary School
- Mejel Elementary School
- Woja Elementary School
Students are zoned to Jaluit High School in Jaluit Atoll."[http://www.pss.edu.mh/files/PSSDocuments/Annual%20Reports/Annual%20Report%20MOE%202011-2012.pdf Annual Report 2011-2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222090338/http://www.pss.edu.mh/files/PSSDocuments/Annual%20Reports/Annual%20Report%20MOE%202011-2012.pdf |date=2018-02-22 }}." Ministry of Education (Marshall Islands). Retrieved on February 22, 2018. p. 54 (PDF p. 55/118). "As such, Jaluit High School enroll students from the Ralik and Iolab school zones including schools from Ebon, Namdrik, Kili, Jaluit, Ailinglaplap, Jabat, and Namu."
In the 1994–1995 school year Ailinglaplap had one private high school.McMurray, Christine and Roy Smith. Diseases of Globalization: Socioeconomic Transition and Health. Routledge, October 11, 2013. {{ISBN|1134200226}}, 9781134200221. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Kc9SAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA127 127].
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/atolls/ailinglaplap.html Marshall Islands site]
- {{Cite web |url=http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/marshall/ailinglaplap.php |title=Entry at Oceandots.com |access-date=July 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/marshall/ailinglaplap.php |archive-date=December 23, 2010 |url-status=usurped |df=mdy-all }}
{{Commons category}}
{{Marshall Islands}}
{{Authority control}}