Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands / is an island country in the Western Pacific Ocean. It is located north of Kiribati and Nauru, east of Micronesia and south of the Wake Island of the United States of America. The Marshall Islands was formerly run by the United States as part of a four-decade United Nations-supervised territory and gained independence in 1986

The Marshall Islands are located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Carolina and Mariana Islands, and to the northwest of the Gilbert Islands. East from China is about 4,800 km, north of Australia about 3,500 km, and extends between latitudes 5-15 north of the equator, and between longitudes 161-172 east of Greenwich, and the islands area is about 180 km²

The Spanish sailor Alvaro Sapdra is the first white man to visit the Marshall Islands in 1529, and the islands were named after the British sea captain "John Marshall", who was credited with their discovery in 1788 AD. Germany owned the islands in 1885 CE with their purchase from Spain, as well as the Mariana Islands and the Carolina Islands in 1899. The Japanese occupied the islands during World War I (1914-1918)

The number of the main Marshall Islands is 32 ringed coral islands and it contains more than 867 coral divisions that are spread over about 1150 small low-lying islands. The most important of the Marshall Islands are the following islands
Majuro Island, and includes the capital city of the Major Island, Enyotek Island, Arnau Island, Bikini Island, Malwillab Island, Oterik Island, and Galuit Island
The Marshall Islands are oceanic islands that formed over the basalt Pacific rocks. The formed coral rocks consist of limestone massifs that were originally parts of the solid skeletons of the coral animal. When the limestone structures of various marine organisms disappeared and coral structures were combined and mixed with different minerals, various coral rocks were formed
The Marshall Islands are spread through two parallel chains towards the northwest - southeast, with a separation of about 200 km, and a length of about 1,000 km each. The eastern chain is known as the Ratac series or the Sunrise series, and the Western series is called the Ralik series or the Sunset series
The main atolls are characterized by being a ring-shaped, round-shaped island with a lake in the center. It is noticeable that the area of ringed atolls is small when measured by the shallow lake area in the middle. For example, the area of the ring tapes of Major Island Atoll is 12 عرض 7 wide and 171,25 long by about 9 km2, while the inner lake area is about 289 km2. Its population does not exceed 1,600 in 2003
The climate of the islands is tropical to tropical warm marine throughout the year, and this is suitable for some marine creatures such as coral. The location of the islands from the equator in the middle of the water made their temperature high throughout the year, with an average monthly temperature of about 25 ° C., with a temperature range of about two degrees between the South Islands 26 ° C and the North Islands 24 ° C. Note that the annual temperature range ranges between less than one degree One in the south and about two degrees in the north
The rain always falls, with the bulk of it concentrated 65% in the period from the beginning of July to the end of October. While the average annual rainfall in the southern islands is about 1200 mm, it decreases in the northern islands to about 850 mm, and the islands are affected by tropical cyclones, even southern ones, (as a tropical cyclone struck on June 30, 1905 AD with high waves that reached a height of about 15 m) , And the density of plants on the islands with porous limestone is less due to the infiltration of water into the rocks, which negatively affected the availability of surface fresh water. The most common types of trees include coconut, paya, banana and bread trees
The cultivation of komara is the official food of the population, sago and yam (similar to large potatoes), and taro (taro). However, coconut palms are of great importance in economic life. The main product is the dried coconut pulp (cobra), which is the most important export of carrots, and the liquid inside coconuts is the main drink for the islanders. Coconut oil is used for a variety of purposes, the most important of which is cooking. Coconut shell is also used as a food container. It is made from coconut palm trees, palm leaves, ropes, nets, hats and clothes. As for fish, they are abundant among corals, and are an important source of income
The islanders are Micronesians, who were known by this name because they inhabited small-size coral islands with limited resources. Among them, the Mongolian traits are clearly visible, and they are generally short, and their skin tends to be yellow. They are the last ethnic group to come to the Pacific islands after the Melanesians and Polynesians. They are famous for their handicrafts, and many Micronesians died of diseases transmitted to their European islands in the nineteenth century AD. The total population of the islands for the year 2003 is approximately 60 thousand people
Many islands in this region are prone to natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes and volcanic eruptions
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